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Washington backed Paris’ claims that Israel is violating the terms of last week’s ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, which formally ended 14 months of hostilities with the terrorist group Hezbollah.

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U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, who played a central role in brokering the deal, delivered a message to officials in Jerusalem that they were not abiding by the terms of the truce, Ynet reported Monday.

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Sources told the Hebrew newspaper that the Americans believe there have been violations by Israel, primarily the use of surveillance drones in the skies over Beirut.

The sources stressed that for the ceasefire to hold, “restraint is required from all parties.”

Paris, a member of the Washington-led monitoring mechanism overseeing the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, accused Jerusalem of committing 52 ceasefire violations, according to reports released Sunday by the Hebrew media citing French diplomatic sources.

The sources claimed that Israel bypassed established channels for reporting violations before taking action.

The reports also claim three Lebanese civilians were killed and point to an increase in Israeli drone activity, saying low-level flights over Beirut had resumed.

Paris is said to be in constant communication with the Lebanese army chief of staff, General Joseph Aoun, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to address these developments.

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“The Lebanese are fully determined to respect the ceasefire and prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing its presence in southern Lebanon, but they need time to demonstrate their efforts,” a French official told Ynet on Sunday.

According to another i24NEWS report on Sunday, Jerusalem said the agreement’s implementation mechanism “will begin to accelerate” on Monday and Tuesday. An Israeli diplomatic source stressed that “any violation will result in a significant response, as is already happening on the ground.”

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stressed to his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot that Hezbollah terrorists must move north of the Litani River. Sa’ar warned that Jerusalem would continue to act against what he described as a “fundamental” violation of the ceasefire agreement.

In a tweet, Sa’ar said he told Barrot in a telephone conversation that “Israel does not violate ceasefire agreements but rather enforces them in response to Hezbollah’s violations.”

He reiterated Jerusalem’s commitment to fully implement the agreement and made clear that Israel “will not return to the reality of October 6, 2023,” the day before the Hamas-led massacre in the northwest of the Negev which started the war in Gaza.

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Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Monday that Israel “is committed to the ceasefire. Sixty days is a progressive phase to ensure that Hezbollah does not harm us or violate the agreement, as happened in 2006. UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese government must fulfill their role – this is also in their interest. We need this period to ensure that there are no terrorist bases there.

He also stressed that the Lebanese people and government must ensure that “Beirut and southern Lebanon are free of weapons – neither in homes, nor in courtyards, nor in children’s bedrooms.”

Hagari said he had just returned from Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon and had observed Bint Jbeil.

“The message being sent is to Iran, to the militias in Iraq and to other Iranian militias: they must learn the lessons of what happened. We will not allow what happened on October 7 to happen again,” he said.

Hagari also discussed the Syrian front, where the IDF worked to thwart Iranian smuggling operations aimed at resupplying Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel is closely monitoring developments in Syria and observes that the Iranian regime is sending reinforcements to Syria. Syria belongs to the Syrians and we will ensure that Iran does not smuggle weapons into Lebanon and Hezbollah. We will act to prevent arms smuggling to Lebanon and Hezbollah via Syria,” he said.

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“Hezbollah was defeated in this campaign. What happens in Syria concerns Syria, not Israel. We must ensure that we are not threatened: we are a sovereign state and we will ensure that Iranian weapons are not smuggled into Hezbollah. If they attempt to do so, we will act accordingly,” he concluded.

The Israeli army on Monday struck three sites in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah activity was detected, with one hit confirmed in Marjayoun. Additionally, warning shots were fired against Lebanese approaching areas near the Israeli border.

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