Iran FM spox:

Israel’s violation of ceasefire clear example of war crime

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has denounced the Israeli regime’s new crime in targeting Lebanese citizens returning home after a fragile ceasefire deal.

News ID: ۲۰۰۰۷۲۹

27 January 2025

EghtesadOnline: In a statement on Monday, Baghaei said the Israeli regime violated the ceasefire agreement it reached with Lebanon several times over the past 60 days.

He added that Israel’s recent crime in targeting people, who were returning home at the end of the 60-day deadline, was the highest level of the regime’s lack of commitment and a blatant violation of human rights, Press TV reported.

It also constituted a clear example of a war crime, noted the Iranian spokesperson, holding the United States and France as guarantors and observers of the ceasefire agreement responsible.

At least 22 people, including nine children and a paramedic, were killed and 124 others wounded when Israeli forces opened fire at the Lebanese people returning to their homes in the country’s southern towns on Sunday.

According to reports, an Israeli drone had targeted residents in the village of Bani Hayyan, causing multiple injuries.

Under the ceasefire deal signed on November 27, 2024, Israeli forces were to withdraw from Lebanon and the Lebanese army was to deploy soldiers in the south of the Arab country over a 60-day period ending on January 26.

Baghaei said the continued presence of occupying forces in southern Lebanon is tantamount to the continuation of the regime’s military aggression against Lebanon’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

In addition to the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement and the command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the United Nations Security Council has a clear responsibility to take effective measures to end Israel’s acts of aggression and hold the regime accountable, the Iranian spokesman added.

He reiterated Iran’s full support for the Lebanese government, people, and resistance in the face of the Israeli regime’s excessive demands and acts of aggression.

Baghaei commended the exemplary resistance and courage of the Lebanese people against the occupying regime and commemorated the martyrs of the resistance, notably Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the martyred leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

According to an official statement by the White House on Sunday, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended for about three more weeks after the regime refused to withdraw its forces in line with the original deal.

It confirmed that the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025. / Mehr