With a new administration in Washington and a renewed focus on the West Bank, it is in Israel’s interests to maintain the ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in late November 2024 to end more than a year of fighting.

The killings appear to be another violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah and mark the latest in a series of violent attacks that have occurred since it began in November. The ceasefire brought a reduction in the number of daily attacks on Lebanon’s south,

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.