ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi on Wednesday condemned a large-scale Israeli bombardment in Lebanon that resulted in hundreds of casualties, calling it evidence of Israel's intention to undermine the US-Iran ceasefire.
Despite the reaching of a two-week ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran that brought a tentative halt to the regional conflict that broke out in late February, Israel's targeting of Hezbollah in its northern neighbor has continued unabated, with the Israeli military announcing Wednesday that they targeted over 100 Hezbollah sites within ten minutes.
"The initial and non-final toll... we have more than 89 martyrs and more than 722 wounded as of 5:00 pm [local time]," Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told Al-Jazeera.
"The continued aggression of the Israeli government, which seeks to perpetuate conflict and violence, despite the difficult international efforts that led to ceasefire arrangements, is evidence of its aggressive plans to undermine the truce," Awadi said in a statement.
"It also represents the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government's escalation of its crimes in a systematic process to disregard the last vestiges of international law and the necessities of global peace."
The Lebanese capital of Beirut was targeted in extensive Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday despite the coming into effect of a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, with the Israeli military saying they targeted "more than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military sites" pic.twitter.com/keaUb7QAkc
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Israel began an extensive military campaign against the Shiite militant group after it intervened against Israel amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, conducting daily airstrikes and occupying swathes of southern Lebanon.
Reports, including from Iranian semi-official media, emerged on Wednesday that Iran would not participate in negotiations with the US scheduled for Friday in Pakistan should the ceasefire not extend to Lebanon.
Trump on the same day told PBS that Lebanon is not a party to the ceasefire agreement, terming the conflict a "separate skirmish."
The Lebanese government has found itself in an unenviable position amid the conflict, having both made clear its intentions to restrict weapons to state control and disarm Hezbollah while also vocally condemning Israeli aggression and the extent of civilian casualties in the Levantine state.