In yet another flagrant breach of international law and a fragile ceasefire agreement, Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of aggressive airstrikes early Tuesday on the outskirts of Shmustar and Wadi Umm Ali, in Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek region.

The attack, reported by Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA), has triggered a wave of condemnation as fears grow over a renewed cycle of violence in the Middle East.

The targeted airstrikes—unprovoked and unauthorized—come in direct defiance of the November 2024 ceasefire deal intended to halt the devastating hostilities between the Israeli occupation and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance. While the Israeli military claims it was targeting so-called “Hezbollah infrastructure,” no independent confirmation has been made, and Hezbollah has not issued an immediate response.

The November agreement, signed after months of intense cross-border fighting that erupted in September 2024, was supposed to offer respite to war-weary civilians on both sides of the border. It obligated Israel to complete its military withdrawal from southern Lebanese territories by January 26, 2025—a deadline which Tel Aviv refused to honor, forcing an extension to February 18.

Yet even after that date, Israel continues to defy the terms of the deal. Five illegal Israeli military outposts remain entrenched along the border, and Israeli drones, artillery, and air raids have become a near-daily reality for residents of southern Lebanon. Since the ceasefire went into effect, Lebanese officials have documented over 2,900 Israeli violations, including cross-border incursions, aerial attacks, and bombardments. These violations have resulted in the deaths of at least 236 Lebanese civilians and injuries to more than 540 others.

The latest aggression in Baalbek—a region far removed from the southern frontlines—further exposes the extent of Israel’s disregard for Lebanese sovereignty and the ceasefire obligations it pledged to uphold.

Lebanese political and civil society voices have condemned Tuesday’s strikes as yet another act of Israeli expansionism and regional destabilization. Critics say the attack reflects Tel Aviv’s increasingly rogue behavior, not just toward Lebanon, but across the entire region—from its continuous bombardment of Gaza and Syria to covert operations in Iraq and Iran.

Observers point to the historical context behind Israel’s long-standing hostilities with Hezbollah. Formed in the early 1980s in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah emerged as a powerful armed resistance force that eventually succeeded in forcing Israeli forces to withdraw in 2000. Since then, the group has continued to position itself as a defender of Lebanese sovereignty and a central player in the axis of resistance against Israeli occupation and Western hegemony.

Israel, in turn, has sought to weaken Hezbollah through assassination campaigns, cyber warfare, and repeated military escalations—most notably the 2006 war, which resulted in over 1,000 Lebanese deaths and left much of the country’s infrastructure in ruins.

The international reaction to Tuesday’s airstrikes has been swift. Several human rights organizations and regional observers have denounced the attack as a dangerous escalation, calling on the United Nations and international mediators to hold Israel accountable for its repeated breaches of ceasefire terms.

Amid growing fears of a broader regional conflagration, Lebanese citizens have taken to the streets in several towns, demanding an end to Israeli air raids and voicing solidarity with Hezbollah and the broader resistance axis.

As the dust settles in Baalbek, and as the international community grapples with Israel’s increasingly aggressive posture, voices in Lebanon and beyond are calling for more than condemnation—they are calling for resilience. (ILKHA)