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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continues to launch strikes against the Hamas Movement and Hezbollah, jeopardizing the ceasefire agreements in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
On February 16, a pair of Israeli drone strikes hit Gaza. According to the IDF, one of the strikes targeted a group of fighters who were approaching its forces in one area and the other was carried out as a warning when a car drove near soldiers in another.
“The IDF continues to call on Gazans to obey the IDF instructions and not approach the forces deployed to the area,” the military said in a statement.
Palestinian media reported that the first drone strike killed three Hamas police officers east of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Commenting on the strike, Hams said “The treacherous firing carried out by a Zionist drone this morning east of Rafah city, targeting police elements tasked with securing the entry of aid… is considered a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
The ceasefire in Gaza was brokered by the United States in January after some 15 months of fighting sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas has freed more than 24 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
The IDF is expected to withdraw from much of the Strip, including the border line with Egypt, by the end of the first phase of the agreement.
Also on February 16, the IDF challenged the ceasefire with Hezbollah, which was brokered by the U.S. in November, by launching strikes deep in Lebanon.
The strikes hit several targets of Hezbollah, including rocket launchers and other weapons, according to the military.
“The activity of terror operatives at these sites is a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.
Lebanon’s state media said that Israeli warplanes carried out three strikes in the Beqaa Valley in the country’s east. No casualties were reported.
“Enemy warplanes carried out two strikes on the outskirts of the town of Harbata and a third strike on the town of Halbata,” in the north of the Bekaa Valley, the official National News Agency said.
Another Israeli strike hit a car in the coastal city of Sidon in southern Lebanon on February 17. The target was the chief of Hamas’s operations in Lebanon, Mohammed Shaheen, according to the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency.
In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet said that Shaheen was involved in advancing “terror attacks” against Israeli civilians, with Iranian funding and guidance.
“Shaheen was a significant source of knowledge within the organization and was involved throughout the war with advancing various terror attacks, including rocket fire on the Israeli home front,” the IDF added.
The strike came just a day ahead of the deadline set by the ceasefire for the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Lebanon.
Israel has already indicated that it will not fully meet this term. Responding, Hezbollah’s chief said on February 16 that it was the Lebanese government’s responsibility to ensure that the IDF withdraws from the country in accordance with the agreement.
The IDF’s recent actions in Gaza and Lebanon indicate that Israel may be planning a new wave of escalation against both Hamas and Hezbollah. This could reignite the conflict on both fronts and in other parts of the Middle East.
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