"The claim made by AP here is inaccurate. Since January, Israel has carried out 132 airstrikes in Lebanon, a clear violation of the previous ceasefire agreement imposed by the two states in 2024."
Dear Associated Press editorial newsroom,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express my concern over your article “Israeli army captures strategic castle in Lebanon in deepest incursion into the country in a quarter-century” which was published in the CBC.
I take issue with this statement:
Its capture marks a major development in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked its main backer, Iran.
The claim made by AP here is inaccurate. Since January, Israel has carried out 132 airstrikes in Lebanon, a clear violation of the previous ceasefire agreement imposed by the two states in 2024.
Additionally, Israeli think tanks have acknowledged Hezbollah's stance in resuming military operations as defensive rather than offensive. For instance, the Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute, which is part of the non-profit Israeli Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center, acknowledged that Hezbollah framed its attack as a 'defensive' measure against regular Israeli ceasefire violations.
Furthermore, in a letter I sent to the Associated Press on March 4, 2026, I highlighted to your editorial team that Israeli forces continued near-daily strikes and maintained positions inside Lebanese territory, and that it was essential to clearly characterize these actions as violations of the ceasefire agreement. Additionally, since the ceasefire agreement was signed on November 27, 2024, there have been over 12,000 documented Israeli violations.
This context was critical to the report, as the Israeli military has been carrying out near-daily attacks in south Lebanon since November 2024.
Following this correspondence, the article was revised to acknowledge that Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon during the 2024 war and continues to occupy five positions on Lebanese territory despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The revised reporting also noted that Israel carried out near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon during the ceasefire period, which killed nearly 400 people.
Importantly, the revised article also incorporated Hezbollah’s stated rationale for its strikes on Monday March 2nd.
Given this precedent, I urge the Associated Press to update its current article to include documented Israeli ceasefire violations and Hezbollah’s stated rationale for its recent offensive in Northern Israel.
I look forward to your response.
--
Media Analyst
