The ceasefire came into effect in , but it started with violations on both sides. As Beirut complains, shortly after its start, heavy fire was heard in the southern part of the Lebanese capital.
The Lebanese army accused it of carrying out “attacks” and shelling in violation of the ten-day ceasefire. In his post, he spoke of “violations of the agreement” and said that there had been “several Israeli attacks” and “sporadic shelling” by artillery that hit “a number of villages”.
For its part, Hezbollah announced that in retaliation it “bombed a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the city of Hiam”, in the southern part of Lebanon.
Trump’s message to Hezbollah
At the same time, Donald Trump sent a message to Hezbollah. The US president said he hoped the Lebanese Shiite movement would “behave well” during the ten-day ceasefire, which came into effect at midnight (local and Greek time).
“I hope that Hezbollah will behave well in this important period. It will be a great time for them if they do. Enough with the killing. We must finally have peace!” Trump said via Truth Social, notably capitalizing that last word as is his wont for emphasis.
A few hours later he proceeded to a new post expressing his optimism about the situation in Lebanon. “Maybe we have a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening,” he said.
Guterres’ appeal
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the ceasefire “between Israel and Lebanon” and called on “all parties” to respect it “fully”, according to a statement released by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York.
“The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement of a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon” and singled out the “role of the US” in its conclusion, the text says, adding that he “hopes that the ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations”.
“It urges all parties to fully respect the ceasefire and comply with their obligations under international law,” added the statement, which uses wording that suggests it is also addressing the Iran-aligned Shiite Hezbollah movement.
