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A senior Israeli military commander said Sunday the Israeli army is preparing for days of combat in northern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding after breaches of a November ceasefire agreement.
"Hezbollah is trying to recover. We will stop it at any cost, even days of fighting," said the commander of the Fire Department at Northern Command, speaking to Israeli media outlet i24NEWS.
The commander claimed that Iran "remains committed" to restoring Hezbollah's capabilities following a major Israeli operation against the group last fall. "The fog of the northern operation has settled, Iran is determined to rebuild Hezbollah and we are preparing for days of fighting," the officer said.
"Hezbollah has not abandoned the idea of being the strongest terror army in the region. It is working toward that," the Israeli officer added.
The Israeli military officer emphasized the group would face strict constraints on its operations. "There will no longer be equations where he attacks here, attacks there. No. He will not exercise force against Israel," the commander said.
The statements come as Israel continues military operations against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire reached in November 2024.
An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle struck a U.N. peacekeeping patrol near Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon at approximately 5:45 p.m. local time Sunday, followed by fire from an Israeli tank directed at the peacekeeping force, according to UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The attack resulted in no casualties or material damage, according to a UNIFIL statement. The peacekeeping force noted a similar incident had occurred at the same location previously.
"The Israeli army's disregard for UNIFIL soldiers' safety is emphasized in the statement where it is stated that 'these actions by the Israeli army constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanon's sovereignty,'" UNIFIL said.
The encounters underscore mounting tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border despite the ceasefire agreement. Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz and Morgan Ortagus, deputy US special envoy to the Middle East, visited the Lebanese border Sunday morning, following airstrikes against southern Lebanon.
At the border, Katz briefed Ortagus on Hezbollah's activities and the group's efforts to rebuild infrastructure, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Yechiel Leiter and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle House Mike Huckabee accompanied them.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was reached in November 2024 after months of escalating conflict. The fighting that began in October 2023 intensified into a large-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and wounding approximately 17,000 others.
Yet despite the ceasefire, Israel has reportedly breached the agreement more than 4,500 times, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, according to reports.
The Israeli military continues to occupy five hilltops captured during the recent war while maintaining positions in territory held for decades.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji conducted helicopter inspections on Friday of southern villages damaged by Israeli strikes.
"The scale of destruction caused by Israeli attacks in the southern villages makes us even more determined to recover our territories and to gather weapons in the state's hands," Rajji said.
Rajji visited UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon, where he met with UNIFIL Commander Diodato Abagnara. The Lebanese foreign minister said, "the destruction he witnessed reinforced his conviction that Lebanon must establish state sovereignty and implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701."
Resolution 1701, adopted unanimously by the U.N. Security Council on Aug. 11, 2006, ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah by establishing a permanent ceasefire and creating a buffer zone.
The resolution calls for Israeli withdrawal behind the Blue Line and the demilitarization of the zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River in Lebanon, with only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL authorized to carry weapons and military equipment.
The resolution also calls for the Lebanese government to reassert its authority over southern Lebanon and establish state sovereignty in the region.
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