Israeli airstrikes kill 2 in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Two people were killed and 10 injured in an Israeli airstrike on Friday near the town of Janta on the Lebanese-Syrian border, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported.
The strike was one of four in the area, which severely damaged a road linking Tfail in Lebanon to Assal Al-Ward in Syria that has been used by Hezbollah as a smuggling route.
Hezbollah paved the road during the Syrian war under the pretext of facilitating the movement of people. Lebanon later asphalted it and installed a security checkpoint.
The airstrikes caused a crater 7 meters deep and 10 meters wide in the road and severed electricity supply lines.
As well as the attacks in Janta, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes in the Wadi Khaled border area.
These are the latest in a series of breaches of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes earlier struck targets in Baalbek-Hermel province.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al-Moussawi condemned Friday’s attacks as “a systematic escalation and a war crime against civilians.”
The Israeli army said the strikes were based on intelligence reports and directed against Hezbollah targets in Bekaa that “pose a threat to Israel and its army.”
“The targets that were struck include a military site containing underground infrastructure used to develop and manufacture weaponry, as well as additional infrastructure sites on the Syrian-Lebanese border used to smuggle weaponry into Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reiterated his country’s “full support for Lebanon and its complete readiness to help the country overcome the repercussions of the recent Israeli war.”
Egypt was willing “to participate in the reconstruction process” and committed to “supporting Lebanese state institutions and the army to ensure its deployment across all Lebanese territories, including the southern regions,” he said.
El-Sisi’s comments were made in a message to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun delivered by Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Abdelatty.
Abdelatty’s visit to Beirut coincided with that of Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs Vahid Jalalzadeh and at a time when the formation of Lebanon’s new government is facing obstacles related to Hezbollah’s participation.
Abdelatty assured Aoun of “the readiness of Egyptian companies, in coordination with the French side and the international community, to contribute to the reconstruction process and share expertise with Lebanon, particularly in the electricity and gas sectors.”
He also highlighted “the utmost importance of fully implementing Resolution 1701 in all its clauses, wording and spirit without any compromise.”
“Egypt insists on Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon without any infringement on Lebanese sovereignty. We welcome the army’s deployment in the south and Egypt is keen on providing full support to the military institution,” he said.
“Furthermore, all displaced individuals must return to their homes in the south and the Bekaa and we condemn the unjustified and illegal targeting of returning civilians.”
Abdelatty said that there were “ongoing communications with the new US administration, the Israeli side and France to stress the importance of fully adhering to the ceasefire agreement, ensuring complete Israeli withdrawal, halting violations and preventing civilian targeting. This is Egypt’s steadfast position.”
“These security-level communications are ongoing to convey this message and our stance will not change,” he said.
The minister also conveyed El-Sisi’s invitation for Aoun to visit Egypt “as soon as possible” and said his government was “looking forward to working on redeveloping and activating the frameworks of bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon, as well as convening the joint higher committee immediately after the formation of the government led by Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam.”
“We look forward to the speedy formation of the new government led by Salam, so Lebanon can fill the vacuum in its institutions,” he said.
“We support Salam’s efforts to form a Lebanese government that does not exclude anyone and reflects all sectarian and religious diversity in brotherly Lebanon. We look forward to the speedy completion of this matter, hoping that it will be a strong Lebanese government that represents everyone.”
Aoun said: “Lebanon holds on to Israel’s withdrawal from the areas it occupied during the last war within the deadline that was extended until Feb. 17” and “rejects the delayed withdrawal under any pretext.”
He also stressed “the necessity to release the Lebanese hostages that were captured by Israel during its war against Lebanon.”
Abdelatty told Salam he hoped for “the formation of the government in the near future.”
“We trust that Lebanon will rise again and fully recover thanks to the presence of patriotic people like President Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam,” he said.
He added that the formation of a government was “a Lebanese matter” and that “no foreign parties should interfere in this.”
After meeting Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Jalalzadeh praised “the special brotherly relations between Lebanon and Iran.”
He said the purpose of his visit was to congratulate Aoun on his election victory and “to congratulate the dear people of Lebanon and the courageous resistance for their remarkable steadfastness during Israel’s unjust war against Lebanon, which led to a ceasefire agreement.”
Jalalzadeh said he and Bou Habib discussed the issue of “Syrians, mostly Shiites, who were forced to flee to Lebanon following the developments in their country.”
“We called for cooperation to provide them with the best essential care,” he said. “We hope that all international forums and organizations will provide them with the same essential and humane care as they did with former Syrian refugees.”
Israel has been threatening to hit Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, claiming that Iran sends cash shipments to Hezbollah through the airport.
In response to the threats, Jalalzadeh said: “Lebanon is a free and independent state that makes its own decisions and decides what relations to establish with different countries of the world and with Iran.
“I affirm that Iranian nationals residing in Lebanese territory are subject to all the laws and customs adopted in Lebanon and therefore we condemn and reject these Israeli threats.”
Lebanese media reported on Friday that Lebanese officials had been pressured by the US to prevent the appointment of figures from Hezbollah or its allies to the new government.