The IDF said on Sunday it killed 25 of Hezbollah’s forces since the ceasefire kicked in last month, and that the Israel Air Force struck dozens of Hezbollah targets, mostly in southern Lebanon.
Since the ceasefire, there have been almost no gunfights across the border; Hezbollah fired two mortars once into Israel, last week. The two mortars were fired into an open area of the Golan Heights.
And, although there have been almost no gunfights, the IDF said it has attacked Hezbollah forces or locations when the terrorist group posed a threat to Israeli forces or tried to break through into southern Lebanon.
Under the terms of the ceasefire signed on November 26, the IDF must withdraw from southern Lebanon by the end of January. However, there is no specific earlier set date to initiate the withdrawal, and the entire deal is subject to compliance by Hezbollah with the ceasefire.
Firing two mortar shells – Hezbollah’s weakest weapons – at an open area was an incident that would break the deal, but it did highlight the fragility and high tensions, even several days into the agreement.
Ceasefire terms
Still, since then there have been no similar violations to firing into Israeli territory, and most of the altercations have been the IDF trying to keep Hezbollah forces from sneaking into southern Lebanon, or trying to strike Hezbollah rocket crews who had not yet fired on Israel, but were suspected of taking actions to prepare for an attack.
The Israeli position would be that Hezbollah should stay away from its rocket firing positions and munitions, and that only unarmed Lebanese civilians can come to southern Lebanon – only when the IDF permits it – at least during the 60 days.
Military sources said they were finding many more bodies of Hezbollah fighters in different rural areas that they were only now getting the chance to explore. They said this meant that the number of Hezbollah terrorists the IDF has killed is probably far higher than previous estimates – which had ranged between 2,500-3,500.