Hezbollah says Israel violating truce, rejects Netanyahu accusation

Hezbollah on Sunday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusation that it was jeopardising a ceasefire and said it would keep responding to Israel's own violations and occupation of south Lebanon.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its attacks on Israeli targets in southern Lebanon and northern Israel were "a legitimate response to the enemy's persistent violations of the ceasefire since the first day of the announcement of the temporary truce".

"Hezbollah affirms clearly and firmly that the enemy's continued ceasefire violations... and above all its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and violations of its sovereignty will be met with a response and a resistance that is present and ready to defend its land and people," the statement said.

Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that "Hezbollah's violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire", and said that "we are acting vigorously in accordance with arrangements agreed with the United States and, incidentally, also with Lebanon".

Under the terms of the truce, which came into force on April 17 and was recently extended for three weeks, Israel reserves the right to respond to "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

It has kept up deadly strikes on Lebanon and its troops are operating inside what it calls the "yellow line", which demarcates a ribbon of Lebanese territory around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep along the length of the border, where Lebanese have been warned not to return.

Hezbollah said that the extension of the truce "was supposed to, according to Lebanese authorities, lead to a real ceasefire... but instead (Israel) escalated its aggression and attacks".

The group has strongly criticised Lebanese authorities and urged them to end their direct engagement with Israel after the two countries' ambassadors to the United States met in Washington twice this month.

US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire days after the first landmark meeting between the representatives of the two countries - which have no diplomatic relations - and the truce extension at the second encounter on Thursday.

Hezbollah said that Lebanese authorities had gotten themselves into "a dangerous predicament when they chose to appear together in a disgraceful photograph" with Israeli representatives.

It said the government had "remained silent and been incapable of fulfilling their most basic national duties towards their land and people, watching as the enemy blows up homes and burns" Lebanese land, Hezbollah said.

Authorities must "provide a clear explanation to their people about the pretext the enemy uses from an agreement that grants them the freedom to attack, destroy and kill".

"We will not wait for or bet on disappointing diplomacy that has proven its failure, nor on an authority that has failed to protect the nation," Hezbollah added.