BRUSSELS: The European Union on Saturday (Nov 8) condemned Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and asked it to respect a ceasefire with the militant group Hezbollah.

Israel conducted fresh attacks in southern Lebanon on Thursday, claiming to target the Iran-backed organisation and accusing the group of rearming.

“The EU calls on Israel to cease all actions that violate resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement reached a year ago in November 2024,” the EU’s foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni stated.

“At the same time, we urge all Lebanese actors and especially Hezbollah to refrain from any measures or responses that could further inflame the situation,” he added.

“Focus by all parties must be on preserving the ceasefire and the progress achieved so far.”

The Israeli army had previously told residents of four villages to evacuate buildings, warning that it planned to target Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.

The Lebanese army has accused Israel of seeking to “undermine Lebanon’s stability” with Thursday’s strikes and to “prevent the completion of the army’s deployment” in line with the ceasefire.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has condemned the Israeli strikes, as has Iran, which on Friday called them “savage” attacks and appealed for the international community to intervene.

Lebanon and Israel are still technically in a state of war, but all the recent armed conflicts with Israel were fought by Hezbollah, not the Lebanese military.

Hezbollah was the only movement in Lebanon that refused to disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, first claiming it had a duty to liberate territory occupied by Israel, and then to continue defending the country.

The group is backed by Iran, which also fought its own war against Israel earlier this year.