Israel carries out blasts across south Lebanon despite ‘ceasefire’ deal

Israeli attacks come amid ongoing talks with Lebanese officials to implement framework for peace between two countries.The Israeli army has attacked the southern Lebanese town of al-Mansouri and carried out blasts in the nearby village of Majdal Zoun, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports, despite the “ceasefie” and ongoing talks between the two countries.The explosion in Majdal Zoun on Friday was heard as far away as city of Tyre, over 15 kilometres (nine miles) away, according to local reports.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Lebanon’s goal to end hostilities with Israel ‘forever’, says presidentlist 2 of 3Trump push for Syrian intervention against Hezbollah ‘short-sighted’list 3 of 3Lebanon Latest: President Aoun visits White House to discuss Hezbollahend of listThe attack and demolitions have become a routine feature of life in southern Lebanon, despite a United States-brokered framework that is supposed to end the fighting and lead to “peace”.On Thursday, an Israeli strike on an ambulance in Nabatieh al-Fawqa injured two medics. The Lebanese Health Ministry called the attack a “flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws and norms”.Israel has been systematically levelling entire villages near the border, with Israeli officials openly declaring the objective of erasing Lebanese towns out of existence to create a “security zone”.Israel occupies nearly fifth of Lebanese territory and has killed more than 4,000 people since fighting erupted on March 2, maintaining that its operations are aimed at stopping Lebanese armed group Hezbollah from launching assaults into northern Israel.However, the demolitions bear close resemblance to Israel’s tactics in Gaza, where a “ceasefire” has not halted the Israeli military’s campaign to destroy the territory. Rights advocates say Israel’s policies aim to make the strip uninhabitable.US President Donald Trump promised to “help” Lebanon during a White House meeting with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun earlier this week.Asked whether there will be a timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from the country, Trump said: “They’re in the process of doing that. They’re in the process of redeploying [to] other sections.”