The Israel Lebanon Ceasefire

There is now a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and in Gaza however according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) there have been violations of the truce.

In Lebanon ACLED report that the ceasefire, which began on 27th November 2024, was largely holding “despite over 330 shelling and aerial strike incidents carried out by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)” in the first 60 days after it began.

There were also “over 260 property destruction events during this period — more than seven times the number for the two months prior……the IDF demolished residential structures, roads, and other civilian infrastructure, asserting that these actions were part of efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s military sites and weapons caches. Questions now remain about what prevented the IDF from completing its clearing operations in southern Lebanon before the agreed-upon deadline."

Hezbollah meanwhile “has largely refrained from attacking Israel in the past two months and remains focused on rebuilding its capabilities. Nevertheless, the longer Israel delays its withdrawal, the greater the likelihood of a recurrence of violence — such as on 26 January, when the IDF shot and killed 24 people attempting to return home— which could ultimately compel Hezbollah to respond.”

In Gaza ACLED report that on the 18th January an Israeli helicopter attack in al-Qarara killed five people including children, on the 26th January the IDF shot at Palestinians returning to their homes killing one and injuring four, in a separate incident they killed a man claiming he was a militant. Israeli violations continued well into February.

As well as continuing to kill Palestinians Israel has only allowed 8,500 trucks carrying food and aid when 12,000 should have been allowed to enter Gaza, 200,000 Tents should have entered Gaza in the first phase of the ceasefire but, halfway through this phase, only 10% have actually entered the strip. “On top of that, 50 desperately sick or injured people were supposed to be allowed out of Gaza daily with family members accompanying them – that should have been 1,000 people so far but the Health Ministry says only 120 patients have been allowed to leave.”

This led Hamas to delay the release of Israeli captives saying they will “remain in place until the occupying entity complies with past obligations and compensates retroactively” 

The Middle East Eye says that “Despite officially halting the fighting, the Israeli army has repeatedly launched air strikes and shot at Palestinians since the ceasefire went into force. Palestinians have also reported regularly hearing Israeli drones in the sky…..Hamas says that on top of these attacks, Israel has also delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, which is one of the ceasefire agreement’s key commitments.”

“Quoting an official with knowledge of the ceasefire negotiations, Reuters says that “Israel had rejected requests by the United Nations, Qatar and others to allow temporary housing units to be brought into Gaza to shelter displaced people as required under the ceasefire agreement.””

As shown below on the X (formerly twitter) feed of Jeremy Scahill The New York Times reports that the claims made by Hamas are accurate and confirmed by “three Israeli officials and two mediators”

Nearly one month after the ceasefire began al-Jazeera reports that “Israel has destroyed dozens of homes in Rafah  southern Gaza,.….Israeli forces have also kept thousands of Rafah residents from their homes, Israeli military vehicles shooting at dozens of people trying to go home, injuring and killing them.” Israel has also built a military outpost nearby close to Rafah.

The report goes on to quote the director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza as saying “Israeli attacks, unexploded ordnance, or fatal injuries sustained earlier have killed 118 people since the ceasefire agreement took effect.”

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In his book The Battle of Beirut: Why Israel Invaded Lebanon, Michael Jansen outlined Israels attitude to ceasefires negotiated during Israel invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

"Over and over again, as so often in its earlier wars, the Israeli army provided examples its own peculiar interpretation of a ceasefire. The normal military practice is that when two sides agree to a ceasefire that automatically means a standstill; the troops remain in their positions. Not so for the Israelis. Under their doctrine of ‘improving positions’, their troops keep moving forward during a ceasefire, cautiously and without shooting.

Thus for the Israelis, a ceasefires is a continuation of the process of gaining territory, by peaceful means. When the other side observes that the Israelis are not standing still, and in order to stop them opens fire again, the Israelis loudly accuse them of breaking the ceasefire. They were very ready to declare unilateral ceasefires, especially when they needed to rest and consolidate. The PLO was then more or less obliged to match this peaceful gesture. Then the refreshed and reinforced Israelis edged forwarded the PLO was obliged  to break the ceasefire.

This went hand-in-hand with the Israeli policy of concocting breaches of the ceasefire, a policy so systemic that it provoked a joke in the Israeli army (Hirsch Goodman, Jerusalem Post, 28th June) ‘about the idiot in the ordnance corps who must have put all Israeli cannon in back to front: “each time we opened fire the army spokesman announces we’re being fired at”.’

Goodman also reported another curious interpretation of ceasefire violations:

“The Defence Minister admitted on television on Friday, 25 June, that the IDF did not always return fire at the same spot Israeli forces sustained fire. A rifle bullet loosed off by a Syrian soldier in the Bekaa could, theoretically, unleash a 16-hour bombardment of West Beirut. It is a pity that it took the Defence Minister two weeks to admit that this was the IDF’s policy.””