Lebanese soldiers in Khiam, South Lebanon, Dec. 23, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Israeli troops mobilized in southern Lebanon retreated on Thursday in the western sector of the border strip, from Naqoura towards Ras Naqoura and Alma Shaab. The Lebanese Army is preparing to move in.
As they withdrew from Naqoura, four kilometers from the border in the Sour, Israeli soldiers combed the area with machine guns, firing on several districts of the village and its outskirts, according to a security source of our correspondent in the South, Mountasser Abdallah. The Israeli army also fired machine guns at Beit Lif, in Bint Jbeil. Two houses in the village were also damaged by artillery fire.
Demining in Shamaa
The official National News Agency (NNA) reports that the Israeli army set fire to several houses in Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) on Wednesday evening. NNA was also able to enter Shamaa with the Lebanese Army, which deployed there after the Israeli withdrawal, and reports “great destruction” and damage “to infrastructure, including electricity, homes, roads, orchards and farmland.” The troops launched de-mining and damage assessment operations in this locality, which saw several days of violent fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army between Nov. 16 and 25.
On Wednesday, the Civil Defense announced that it had removed the bodies of two people killed in rubble in the al-Faour district of Khiam. For the past three weeks, rescue workers have been carrying out clearing operations in this locality, which witnessed several weeks of fighting before the cease-fire. With these two new bodies, at least 26 have already been found, according to our correspondent, and there could be 100 more victims under the rubble.
Despite the entry into force of a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, Beirut has denounced hundreds of violations of the agreement by Israel, while the Israeli army continues its operations in southern Lebanon, preventing some residents from returning to their homes. At least 36 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the 60-day truce, which ends on Jan. 27, and villages in the border strip continue to be dynamited on a daily basis.