Israeli military fires at 'suspects' in south Lebanon 'violating ceasefire agreement'

By Henry Moore

The Israeli military has opened fire at "suspects" in Lebanon, less than 48 hours after it signed a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

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The Israeli Military has opened fire on "suspects" in southern Lebanon that they allege broke the terms of their ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

The Israel Defence Forces said in a statement: "Over the past hour, several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire. The IDF opened fire toward them.

"The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement."

It comes less than two days after a ceasefire deal was signed between Israel and Hezbollah, which was due to last 60 days.

Prior to the agreement, Israel told the Lebanese people it was "absolutely forbidden" to enter southern Lebanon before 7am local time on Thursday.

The ceasefire, which is intended to be permanent, marked an important step forward in diplomatic efforts to restore peace to the Middle East.

But despite the agreement, the Israel Defence Forces warned residents of southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, not to return home until they had been told it was safe.

More than 100,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by the war, along with around 60,000 Israelis.

Despite the IDF's order, streams of cars were seen on Wednesday morning driving into southern Lebanon, including to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars.

Under the deal, thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers are to deploy to the region south of the Litani River. An international panel lead by the US would monitor compliance by all sides.

Israeli ministers insisted it would resume strikes on Lebanon if Hezbollah breached the terms of the ceasefire, while the deal does not affect Israel's continuing assault on Gaza.

Hamas has said it is ready for a ceasefire following the agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

The militant Palestinian group has said it is ready to agree a “serious” deal and prisoner exchange with Israel in the wake of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

"We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners," a senior official told AFP.

This is not the first time Hamas has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, with the group working with mediators for several months to agree terms for a truce with Israel.