Day 2 of ceasefire sees Israeli airstrike on Lebanon

BEIRUT — Israel on Thursday carried out its first airstrike on Lebanon since a truce with Hezbollah announced this week, saying it targeted the terrorist group’s activity at a rocket storage facility in southern Lebanon that breached the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities reported scattered incidents of Israeli mortar attacks, strikes and shots fired that wounded two people trying to return to southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s state-run media said the wounded were civilians, while the Israeli military described them as suspects who violated the terms of the truce that ended more than a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The bursts of violence — with no reports of serious casualties — reflected the uneasy nature of the ceasefire that otherwise appeared to hold Thursday as Lebanese troops began to deploy in parts of southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has based its operations.

The Lebanese military said it was setting up temporary checkpoints and detonating unexploded ordnance in hopes of helping displaced civilians return to their homes.

Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon during the country’s deadliest war in decades. Thousands of residents began to make the odyssey back to their war-ravaged towns on Wednesday, after the ceasefire took effect.

But their movements remain constrained. The Lebanese and Israeli militaries have ordered civilians displaced from border communities to steer clear of areas where Israeli troops are still in position.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said its troops opened fire at “several suspects” who arrived in their vehicles to certain parts of southern Lebanon in violation of the truce. The statement did not give further details.

Col. Avichay Adraee, an Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, announced that a nighttime curfew for Lebanese residents south of the Litani River remained in effect, banning movement from 5 p.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Friday.

Hezbollah has not issued any public statements on the alleged Israeli ceasefire violations but Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah acknowledged the incidents. When asked by reporters how Hezbollah would respond, he was cautious.

“We don’t want to rush things,” he said, adding that Hezbollah “has the right to self-defense.”

Israel says it plans to withdraw its forces, but only as it ensures Hezbollah observes the agreement.

“Any deviation from this agreement will be enforced with fire,” said Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff.