Closing summary
We’re closing our Middle East crisis liveblog now after a day in which Israel and Hezbollah traded fire in Lebanon, five days after a ceasefire was declared in the conflict.
Here’s what we’ve been following:
Hezbollah said it launched two rockets near a watchtower in the occupied Shebaa farms earlier on Monday night. They landed in an open area and caused no injuries. In a statement, the group said the attack on the watchtowers was an “initial warning defensive response” against “repeated violations” by Israel of the ceasefire agreement.
In response, Israel said it targeted “dozens of targets” in southern Lebanon, claiming to have struck “Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of launchers, and terrorist infrastructure” across the country. “Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity,” the army said in a statement.
US officials said they believed the ceasefire, announced last Wednesday, had not broken down. “If we do see violations of the ceasefire, we’ll go to the parties and tell them to knock it off,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at an afternoon briefing.
But the UN peacekeeping force, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), told CNN through an unnamed source said Israel has been serially in breach of the ceasefire agreement. The source said “approximately 100” incidents have been recorded.
Please keep following the Guardian’s news coverage for the latest developments in the Middle East crisis.
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Trump: 'Hell to pay' if hostages not released
Donald Trump is promising “there will be all hell to pay” in the Middle East if hostages still being held in Gaza by Hamas are not released by his inauguration on 20 January.
The president-elect made the statement in a post to his Truth Social network, but did not elaborate on what the threat entailed, other than to say those responsible would be “hit harder than anybody has been hit”.
Here’s Trump’s statement in full, random capital letters included:
Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it’s all talk, and no action!
Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!
According to the Washington Post, there were believed to be 63 hostages still alive in Gaza as of 26 November. One of them, Israeli-American Omer Neutra, was reported killed Monday having previously thought to have been a hostage.
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Israel says it struck 'dozens of targets'
The Israeli military said Monday it had “struck Hezbollah terrorists, dozens of launchers, and terrorist infrastructure throughout Lebanon”, the Reuters news agency reported.
The Israeli air force also “struck the Hezbollah launcher in the area of Berghoz in southern Lebanon shortly” after the militant group targeted an Israeli position.
“Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity,” the army said in a statement.
Concerns that Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire could collapse
There is intense scrutiny of the conduct of Israel and Hezbollah in the last day as various parties, both involved on the ground and in diplomatic circles, watch and debate to what extent the five-day-old ceasefire in Lebanon is holding.
The UN peacekeeping force, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), has an unnamed source that’s telling CNN that Israel has been serially in breach.
A UNIFIL source tells CNN that Israel has breached its ceasefire agreement with Lebanon "approximately 100" times since the truce went into effect last Wednesday.
— Tamara Qiblawi تمارا قبلاوي - tqiblawi.bsky.social (@tamaraqiblawi) December 2, 2024
The US state department is currently officially of the view that the ceasefire is holding, according to spokesman Matthew Miller. But unnamed US officials are telling Axios that the ceasefire could unravel or collapse.
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, says Israel is “enforcing” the ceasefire.
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Fighting has had a heavy toll in Lebanon in the last 13 months, with almost 4,000 people killed by Israeli strikes, more than 1 million people displaced and £6.7bn ($8.4bn) in damages.
Residents of south Lebanon had just begun to return to their homes this week and begin repairs. In north Israel, more than 60,000 people remain displaced by Hezbollah rockets.
The ceasefire mandates that Israeli troops leave south Lebanon and Hezbollah’s fighters vacate the area south of the Litani River, about 18 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border, within 60 days. The deal ended fighting that began after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on 8 October 2023 “in solidarity” with Hamas’s attack a day prior.
A key point of contention in the ceasefire has revolved around Israel’s right to unilaterally enforce what it deems to be violations of the truce. Israeli officials have stressed that it will maintain the right to carry out attacks and reopen the front in Lebanon if it feels the ceasefire deal is not being respected.
The head of Israel’s military Lt Gen Herzi Halevi said:
We will attack with great force in the face of Hezbollah’s dangerous violations, this is what we will continue to do. We have plans and targets that are ready to be implemented at any moment.”
Hezbollah has said that Israel does not have the right to carry out attacks in Lebanon or fly its aircraft in Lebanese airspace, saying this would be an encroachment of Lebanese sovereignty.
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The resumption of tit-for-tat strikes in south Lebanon and north Israel has caused concern that full-fledged fighting between Hezbollah and Israel could resume just five days after a ceasefire was announced.
The newest Israeli bombing constituted the most significant attacks since the ceasefire was established on Wednesday. The Israeli military had carried out several strikes over the past week, but at a lower intensity. Israeli media reported on Sunday that France, which is supposed to supervise the implementation of the deal, had accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement 52 times since its establishment.
Residents of Lebanon continued to brace themselves for Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s attack on Monday night, with a witness telling the Guardian that people started leaving Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut where Hezbollah enjoys strong support, shortly after Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.
“We are tired, we can’t handle any more of this. People barely just got back to their homes,” said Ali, a resident of Beirut from Tyre, south Lebanon.
Analysts have said that Hezbollah, weakened from more than a year of fighting, does not want to reignite a war with Israel but must play a balancing act by not appearing too docile in the face of continuing Israeli strikes.
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Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon has not broken down – US Department of State
Western diplomats have reportedly cautioned Israel to be less aggressive in its attacks on Lebanon and urged it to allow the monitoring mechanism, which is meant to supervise the ceasefire, to begin its work.
US Maj Gen Jasper Jeffers arrived in Beirut on 27 November to co-chair the ceasefire committee alongside the US envoy to the region, Amos Hochstein.
During a briefing with reporters on Monday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the ceasefire had not broken down and the US-led enforcement mechanism would address violations.
If we do see violations of the ceasefire, we’ll go to the parties and tell them to knock it off,” Miller says.
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Lebanon state media says Israel struck southern areas
Lebanon state media says Israel struck southern areas 20km (12.5 miles) from the border.
Lebanese official media reported Israeli strikes on southern areas far from the border on Monday evening, hours after Hezbollah claimed an attack on an Israeli position days into a fragile ceasefire, AFP writes.
Enemy warplanes launched strikes... (on) the outskirts of the town of Jbaa,” as well as the Deir al-Zahrani area, the National News Agency said.
The agency later also reported “a series of air strikes” close to two villages near Jbaa.
🚨 Airstrikes targeted Jbaa, Bouslaiya, Breij, and areas between Houmine El Faouqa and Deir El Zahrani in southern Lebanon on Monday. Reconnaissance aircraft activity was reported alongside these attacks. #Lebanon #Airstrikes #MilitaryActivity #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/LR4bVpvBwI
— Observe Lebanon (@ObserveLebanon) December 2, 2024
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The Israeli military said it was currently striking “terror” targets in Lebanon amid mutual accusations of ceasefire violations between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
The announcement comes after a Hezbollah attack earlier in the day targeting an Israeli military position in a disputed area on the Israel-Lebanon border, the group’s first since the truce took effect on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
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Israel carries out airstrikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket fire
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in the Nabatieh district, south Lebanon, in response to Hezbollah rocket fire near a watchtower, the first time the group has attacked Israel since a ceasefire came into effect Wednesday morning last week.
Hezbollah had launched two rockets near a watchtower in the occupied Shebaa farms earlier on Monday night. They landed in an open area and caused no injuries. In a statement, the group said the attack on the watchtowers was an “initial warning defensive response” against “repeated violations” by Israel of the ceasefire agreement.
An Israeli military spokesperson said that the army was attacking targets in Lebanon but would give “further details later”. An hour earlier, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a “strong” response to Hezbollah’s attack.
The Israeli airstrikes constituted the most serious attacks since the ceasefire was established on Wednesday. The resumption of tit-for-tat strikes in south Lebanon and north Israel has caused concern that fully fledged fighting between Hezbollah and Israel could resume just five days after a ceasefire was announced.
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