Israel Bombs Lebanon After Votes Were Cast Against UN Peacekeeping Reforms By Lebanese Government

Israeli warplanes bombed Lebanon on Tuesday night, saying that it had targeted Hezbollah positions in retaliation for shots fired across the border.

The Israel Defence Forces said, “During operational activity in northern Israel last night, shots were fired from Lebanon towards IDF troops. We responded with fire, and our aircraft struck Hezbollah observation posts near the border.”

Israeli defence forces claimed that “a security incident” was developing in the UN-demarcated Blue Line border in northern Israel.

The army warned, “A number of routes in the area have been blocked. Any kind of activity in open areas is forbidden, including agricultural work, Residents are asked to remain in their houses, and near shelters, ready to find shelter upon immediate notice.”

Israel has repeatedly flown drones over Lebanon and has a large troop presence in the border area.

The two countries are technically still at war after an Israeli invasion in 2006 in which around 2,000 civilians were killed, 600 of them children.

The latest Israeli aggression came after Lebanon rejected a demand from Tel Aviv for reforms to the UN peacekeeping force ahead of a UN security council vote to review its mandate.

The 10,500-strong force is working with the Lebanese army to monitor a 2006 ceasefire agreement and Israeli withdrawal from the demilitarized zone on the border.

But Israel consistently claims that Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government, is stockpiling weapons and poses a threat to national security, despite a lack of concrete evidence.

Lebanon is struggling to deal with the aftermath of a massive explosion in the port of Beirut earlier this month.

Mass protests have also rocked the country since October 2019 amid a deepening economic crisis and widespread poverty.