ISRAEL IN LEBANON

REUTERS

Laila Bassam, Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell and Steven Scheer

BEIRUT – Israel on April 20 told residents of south Lebanon to stay out of a belt of territory at the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah. The U.S.-mediated, 10-day ceasefire took effect on April 16, largely halting the war between Israel and Iranbacked Hezbollah that spiraled out of the conflict between the United States and Iran. But it remains fragile, with Israeli troops occupying territory deep in the south, aiming to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack, while the group says it maintains the “right to resist” Israeli occupation.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first round of talks between Israeli ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington Nada Moawad – the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades – on April 14.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Washington was making an effort to extend the ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments, after he met the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.

Following the highest level contacts in decades between Israel and Lebanon last week, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington would host a second round of ambassadorlevel talks between Lebanon and Israel on April 23. Hezbollah strongly opposes the contacts.

Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when the Lebanese group opened fire in support of Tehran, sparking an Israeli offensive that led Israel to invade the south and which authorities say killed nearly 2,300 people in Lebanon.

The Israeli military posted a map on social media with a red line through 21 villages across the south, and said residents should not move into the area between it and the border. It said Israeli troops were maintaining positions in the south “in the face of ongoing terrorist activities” by Hezbollah.

The map named more than 50 other villages to which residents should not return. The Israeli military also said “it is not allowed” to approach the area of the Litani River, which meets the Mediterranean some 20 miles north of the border and mostly flows to the north of the area the Israeli military said residents should stay out of. On April 19, the Israeli military published a similar map, showing for the first time its new deployment line inside Lebanon running 3 to 6 miles deep. The Israeli military has been carrying out demolitions in villages in the south, saying it is acting against infrastructure

People stand on the rubble of a destroyed house after returning to the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on April 20. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

LEFT: People mourn four members of Hezbollah killed in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said on April 20 that his group would work to break the “Yellow Line“ that Israel established in southern Lebanon.

FADEL ITANI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

belonging to Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had built up and embedded “its presence in civilian infrastructure” in the area “over many decades.”

Senior Lebanese politician Ali Hassan Khalil, a Berri aide and Hezbollah ally, said Israeli forces had carried out varying degrees of destruction in 39 occupied villages since the ceasefire. Khalil told Reuters the destruction of civilian homes was a “clear war crime.”

The Israeli military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier, during a briefing with reporters, an Israeli military official didn’t answer questions about the scale of Israeli demolition operations in the south, denying the military was “removing villages.” A photo showing the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village home to Christians triggered widespread condemnation on April 20 from Israeli, U.S. and church officials.

The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to join the regional war on March 2, having sought the group’s peaceful disarmament for the past year, and had called for negotiations with Israel.

Hezbollah says the ceasefire is thanks to Iran. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon’s talks with Israel would be handled by a delegation led by its former ambassador to Washington, Simon Karam. A senior Lebanese official earlier said Beirut had informed Washington that circumstances were not correct for a face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel during the war. Its attacks have killed two civilians in Israel while15 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, Israel says.

Hezbollah has not disclosed its casualty figures. At least 400 of its fighters had been killed by the end of March, according to sources. Hezbollah on April 20 said explosive devices previously planted by its fighters had detonated as Israeli military vehicles were moving through an area of the south on Sunday, destroying four tanks. Israel’s military denied this.

People ride a moped past the rubble of a destroyed building after returning to the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on April 20.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES