Israel army says established Gaza-style 'Yellow Line' in Lebanon

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JERUSALEM — Israel's military said Saturday it had established a "Yellow Line" in southern Lebanon, similar to the one separating its forces from Hamas-held areas in Gaza, adding it had hit a "terrorist cell" operating along the demarcation.

Since a ceasefire in Gaza came into effect in October, the boundary has divided the Palestinian territory into military- and Hamas-controlled zones, with Israeli troops routinely firing on anyone approaching it.

In its first mention of such a demarcation in Lebanon, the army said Saturday that its troops in the south "identified terrorists who violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces from north of the Yellow Line in a manner that posed an immediate threat".

"In order to eliminate the threat... forces attacked the terrorists in several areas," it added, noting that the military was authorised to act against imminent threats in spite of the recently agreed ceasefire in Lebanon.

In a separate statement later in the day, the military said the air force had eliminated a "terrorist cell operating in proximity to IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon, in the area of the forward defence line", referring to the Yellow Line.

It did not specify how many suspected militants were killed.

The army said it also "struck an underground shaft in the area south of the forward defence line, as well as Hezbollah terrorists who were identified entering it".

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on Thursday to allow for negotiations to end six weeks of war between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

The war saw massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south.

Lebanese authorities say the war has killed nearly 2,300 people since it began on March 2, and had caused widespread devastation in southern towns and cities such as Nabatiyeh.

Hezbollah halted military operations after the ceasefire came into effect, but warned that it was keeping its "finger on the trigger" in case Israel violated it.

'Crucial' talks

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that direct negotiations with Israel "are crucial", and that the government aims to "consolidate a ceasefire (and) secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied southern territories".

Hezbollah strongly opposes the planned negotiations between the two sides, which have technically been at war for decades.

US President Donald Trump has said Washington "prohibited" Israel from bombing Lebanon following the ceasefire deal, and that the US would work with Lebanon to "deal with" Hezbollah.

But Israel has not "yet finished the job" against the group, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, vowing to press on "dismantling" it just hours after the truce came into effect.

Since before the latest war, Beirut has pledged to disarm Hezbollah and assert its authority as the sole legal bearer of arms across the country, but Israel had criticised its efforts as insufficient.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal visited the south on Saturday to review his troops' "operational situation" in Kfar Dunin after the implementation of the ceasefire.

He told soldiers there that "the Lebanese people look to (the army) during this difficult period", even as he acknowledged its "limited resources".

Kfar Dunin is located around four kilometres away from where a French United Nations peacekeeper was killed earlier on Saturday, with Paris accusing Hezbollah of carrying out the attack, which it denied.