ISRAELI air attacks on Lebanon have reached their highest levels since the 2024 ceasefire agreement, a new report by an international aid group said today.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) accused the Israelis of carrying out a “clear and dangerous” surge in air attacks on Lebanon.

The NRC said that Israeli warplanes had carried out at least 50 air raids on Lebanon over the last month, about double the number of the previous month.

The group said the Israeli attacks make a mockery of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon in November 2024, after more than a year of cross-border attacks and a two month long campaign of Israeli attacks that killed thousands.

Maureen Philippon, the NRC’s country director in Lebanon, said: “These attacks, as well as the many ground incursions that continue to happen away from the cameras, have deemed the ceasefire agreement little more than ink on paper.”

This week Israeli warplanes targeted buildings in two villages in southern Lebanon, Kfar Tebnit and Ain Qana. The Israelis claimed the buildings were “military infrastructure” that Hezbollah was attempting to rebuild in order to reset their activities in the region.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of committing an environmental crime after Israeli aircraft sprayed an unknown substance over a number of southern Lebanese towns.

The NRC said the continued attacks have created a climate of fear among the population and were hampering reconstruction efforts caused by previous Israeli attacks.

Ms Philippon said: “Aid agencies, including the NRC, are still dealing with the aftermath and consequences of months of destructive conflict which left much of Lebanon in ruins.”

She called on Israel to stop its attacks on southern Lebanon saying “this vicious cycle has to end.”

This comes a day after Israel’s justice ministry charged a dozen people, including Israeli soldiers with systematically smuggling hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of goods into Gaza, according to a statement by Israel’s prosecutor.

The indictment charged the accused, some of whom included army reservists, with smuggling cigarettes, iPhones and batteries into Gaza and “assisting the enemy during wartime.”

It said the accused committed their actions while aware of the possibility that the goods would reach resistance group Hamas and its operatives.

The statement also linked Bezalel Zini, the brother of Israel’s chief of domestic security, David Zini to the smuggling ring.

Earlier this week Mr Zini’s lawyer said that his client denies all “suspicions” attributed to him.