The minaret of a mosque in Shebaa, at the center of destruction in this village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 27, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Despite the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah coming into effect at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the Israeli army continued to hit villages in the border zone with machine-gun fire, artillery and drone-launched missiles, resulting in several injuries. Shots were fired at Taybeh, Markaba and Rmeish, a Christian village that had so far been relatively spared by the Israeli army.
According to a security source contacted by our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Mountasser Abdallah, the firing on several villages in the border zone is aimed at “preventing people from returning to their villages,” while the Israeli army has called on the inhabitants of the South not to go into a zone almost 10 kilometers deep in South Lebanon, in which it remains deployed. This strip of territory is bounded to the north by the villages, from west to east, of Mansouri, Yater, Brasheet, Shaqra, Yohmor, Arnoun, Marjayoun and Hebbarieh. “Anyone moving south of this line is putting themselves in danger,” wrote the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, in a posting on X.
The cease-fire agreement gives the Israelis 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, during which time the Lebanese Army must deploy in the area. The Lebanese Army began its deployment on Wednesday, and announced that it would be carrying out various “missions” in parallel in the various regions of Lebanon that had suffered from the bombardments, including setting up roadblocks, detonating unexploded munitions and clearing roads.
2 wounded in Markaba
Against this backdrop, according to local sources, at least 10 shells fell on Taybeh, in the Marjayoun district. In the middle of this bombardment, a drone fired a missile. At least three people were injured.
Israeli fire is continuously heard in Khiam, in the same area, while Markaba's mukhtar Hashem Zaraket told our correspondent that two people were wounded in the village after artillery fire was fired at the central square. This locality was also targeted by small arms fire, according to Zaraket. Other sources reported a drone strike on a car in the same village. The Israeli army also fired artillery shells at the Fatima Gate in Kfar Kila, to ward off people trying to approach the village.
In the district of Bint Jbeil, in the center of the border strip, three Israeli artillery shells were fired at Rmeish (Bint Jbeil) at 10:30 a.m., damaging a supermarket, village mayor Milad Allam told our correspondent. No casualties were reported. This Christian village has rarely been targeted since October 2023, with the exception of artillery fire that has occasionally been aimed at the village outskirts.
Overflights
Israeli fighter jets are also flying over southern Lebanon, as far as Saida, as well as the Bekaa.
In the South, several episodes of gunfire shook the precarious calm that had prevailed overnight, notably in Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil) and Aitaroun. Artillery fire targeted Aita al-Shaab and the central area of the Blue Line, as well as the villages of Zawtar Sharqieh and Gharbieh, Yohmor and Arnoun (in the Nabatieh district) were also intensively overflown by drones.
During the night, machine-gun and artillery fire had already been heard at Aitaroun and Khiam (Marjayoun).
'Violation of the agreement'
As gunfire continued to target southern Lebanon, both Hezbollah and the Israeli army denounced violations of the cease-fire agreement.
The army said that “over the last few hours,” it had observed “the arrival of suspicious people, moving in vehicles” in several areas of the South “which is considered a violation of the cease-fire agreement.” It therefore “fired in the direction” of these people.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah declared after a session of parliament that Israel had violated the cease-fire agreement by “attacking those returning to the border villages.”