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Israel Lebanon Ceasefire: Hezbollah senior leader Wafiq Safa survived an Israeli assassination attempt in October.
Israel Lebanon Ceasefire: Wafiq Safa (centre) was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2019 for acting as the militant group’s link to Lebanese security forces. (IMAGE: X/@LBCI_NEWS)
Hezbollah senior leader Wafiq Safa was seen touring the city of Beirut as a ceasefire with Israel came into force Wednesday. Lebanese media outlets shared photos of Safa out and about with friends in public.
Safa, according to a Times of Israel report, survived an apparent assassination attempt last month and is the group’s Liaison and Coordination Unit chief. He survived the Israeli strike in central Beirut on October 10 and even though there were claims that described him as badly injured, he was seen without any visible ailments at a cemetery in Beirut.
In 2019, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Safa, identifying him as Hezbollah’s liaison to Lebanese security forces.
Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah began the journey back home, with many celebrating an end to the deadly fighting.
The truce brings to a halt a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and resulted in mass displacement on both sides of the border.
More than 900,000 people in Lebanon fled their homes in recent weeks, according to the UN, as Israel pounded areas around the country with a focus on areas where Hezbollah holds sway.
It says at least 3,823 people have been killed in the country since exchanges of fire began in October 2023, most of them in recent weeks.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities with Hezbollah have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
The war escalated after nearly a year of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, whose attack on Israel in October last year sparked the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in September to secure its northern border from attacks by Hezbollah, and dealt the movement a relentless string of staggering blows.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he asked the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to take “forceful” action and block what he claimed are Hezbollah members entering border villages where Israeli troops may still be operating.
“Due to the entry of Hezbollah members into Kfar Kila, (the military is being asked) to act forcefully and without compromises against developments of this kind, and if they endanger the IDF troops, they must be hit,” his office said in a statement.
The Iran-backed group, which has yet to formally comment on the ceasefire, emerges from the war massively weakened but not crushed, and still mourning the killing in an Israeli air raid of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Traffic on the road from the Lebanese capital to the main southern city of Sidon was congested in the early hours, as thousands of people headed back to their homes, news agencies reported.
“What we feel is indescribable,” said one Lebanese driver on the road to the south. “The people have won!”
(with inputs from AFP)
- Location :
Beirut, Lebanon
