Israel army says it established 'Yellow Line' in Lebanon, as in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Saturday, April 18, that it had established a "Yellow Line" demarcation in southern Lebanon, similar to the one separating its forces from territory still held by Hamas in Gaza, adding that it had already struck suspected militants approaching its troops along the line.

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"Over the past 24 hours, IDF forces operating south of the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon 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," the military said, referring to such a line for the first time since a ceasefire came into effect.

"Immediately after identification and in order to eliminate the threat (...) forces attacked the terrorists in several areas in southern Lebanon," it said, noting that the military was authorised to take action against threats, despite the ceasefire. "Actions taken in self-defense and to remove immediate threats are not restricted by the ceasefire," the military said.

Since a ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on October 10, the Palestinian territory has been split by a "Yellow Line," the de facto boundary dividing Gaza into two zones: one under Israeli military control and one under Hamas control. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on Thursday in order to negotiate an end to six weeks of war between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

The war saw massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon and also a ground invasion in the south. Lebanese authorities say the war that began on March 2 has killed nearly 2,300 people and 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 the truce.