Lebanon accuses Israel of aborting cease-fire efforts after attack on army post

BEIRUT

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused Israel on Sunday of rejecting all efforts to reach a cease-fire with Lebanon, following an attack that killed one soldier and injured 18 others in southern Lebanon.

The army said that the military casualties occurred after Israeli warplanes struck an army post in the town of Al-Amiriya early Sunday.

The Israeli attack “represents a direct bloody message rejecting all ongoing efforts and contacts to reach a cease-fire, strengthen the army's presence in the south, and implement UN Resolution 1701,” Mikati said in a statement.

"This direct aggression is added to a series of repeated attacks on the army and Lebanese civilians,” he added.

The US, Israel’s main ally, is mediating between Israel and Lebanon to reach a cease-fire deal to end more than a year of attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.

"As it turned against a US-French call for a cease-fire in September, Israel now writes its refusal to any possible solution with Lebanese blood," Mikati said.

Israel has escalated its airstrikes in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, an escalation of year-long warfare with the Lebanese group since the start of the Gaza war last year.

More than 3,600 victims have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with more than 15,300 injured and over 1 million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara