Lebanese soldiers in Khiam, South Lebanon, on Dec. 23, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
A statement signed by the residents of the village of Aitaroun urged on Tuesday the residents to "avoid heading to the village and to take precautions," following "the entry of Israeli tanks at dawn" into the area, where the Lebanese army was supposed to deploy.
"Bulldozers cut off roads with mounds of sand, while soldiers launched sound bombs and fired automatic weapons inside the village," the statement said.
L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon further reported that submachine gunfire and movements of Israeli tanks and military vehicles occurred on Tuesday morning in the areas of Mfailha and Ras al-Daher, west of Meis al-Jabal (Marjayoun), a village shelled almost daily by the Israeli army during the war.
The municipality of Aitaroun announced on Sunday that the Lebanese army would soon retake two of its positions in the village and that "the permanent return of residents will be arranged in the coming days." On the same day, a statement from the local authorities of Meis al-Jabal had called on the inhabitants "not to venture out and to follow the directives of the Lebanese army," pending the ability to return to the village "soon," mentioning an imminent deployment of the army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the village.
Despite a 60-day cease-fire adopted on Nov. 27, 2024, between Hezbollah and Israel, following a conflict lasting over a year and two months, the Israeli army continues to demolish houses in south Lebanon, conduct operations, and occupy part of the territory there.