Strikes on the hills of the Nabatieh region on May 8, 2025. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah)
A veritable deluge of fire rained down on the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon on Thursday. During the day, Israel carried out a series of strikes, “among the most intense” since the cease-fire came into force, according to two security sources contacted by Reuters. At least two people were killed in these air raids, at a time when press reports indicate renewed pressure on Lebanese officials from U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus. She reportedly urged the government to act before it was too late regarding Hezbollah's weapons.
According to information from our correspondent in the South, Mountasser Abdallah, these bombardments targeted the wooded hills and heights of Kfar Tibnit and Nabatieh Fawqa, with at least 15 missiles. The detonations were heard across southern Lebanon, as far away as Sour. While Israel's Channel 14, citing military sources, claimed that the Israelis had fired at a “very important target,” without giving further details, the army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, quickly announced that the strikes were aimed at a site used by Hezbollah to “manage its firing and defense systems” in the Shqif area, a village around eight kilometers from Nabatieh. He claimed that Hezbollah “saboteurs” and “combat means” had been targeted. “This site was part of a strategic underground project, which has been decommissioned,” he added, while Hezbollah repeatedly published videos of an extensive network of tunnels during the last war. Shortly afterwards, Hezbollah announced the death of two of its members, Ali Mohammad Shahrour (from the town of Harouf, in the governorate of Nabatieh) and Bassem Ali Assaf (from Arnoun, also in Nabatieh), in two separate statements.
In another development, Israeli fire targeted a civilian vehicle on the road between Odaisseh and Kfar Kila, in the Marjayoun district. The passengers survived, according to our correspondent. Israeli artillery targeted a farm in Bastara and the outskirts of the town of Shebaa (both in Hasbaya) with two shells, while an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on workers carrying out maintenance work on the electricity network in Houla (Marjayoun). No injuries were reported.
'Burn the dollars of the resistance'
In addition, an Israeli drone dropped counterfeit bills bearing anti-Hezbollah slogans over Naqoura, in the district of Sour, locals told our reporter on the scene, Lyana Alameddine. The yellow and white bills carried various slogans, all against the party and the fact that it pours funds into its base. Some of the bills read, “The era of resistance lies and deceit is over, burn the resistance dollars,” while others read, “Hezbollah dollars are haram and won't do you any good since Hezbollah destroyed your homes and displaced your families.”
In this context, President Joseph Aoun said he was “following security developments” in the South, according to a brief statement published on the Presidency's X account. Aoun has “received reports on the consequences” of the strikes on the targeted locations. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said, "I affirm that all Israeli violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and the cease-fire agreement must cease, and that the government has spared no effort and will spare no effort to accelerate the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory." For its part, the parliamentary bureau condemned “the Israeli aggressions” in Lebanon and called on the government “to act urgently to take the necessary measures to put an end to them,” at a meeting on Thursday chaired by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
UNIFIL denies removing Hezbollah flags
Meanwhile, after a patrol from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was accused on Thursday of attempting to remove Hezbollah flags and photos of slain party members near Aitaroun and Blida (Marjayoun), a spokesperson for the peacekeepers denied the accusations to L'Orient-Le Jour. He said the peacekeepers “stopped for another reason and did not touch any flags or images.” According to information circulating on social networks, notably WhatsApp, the patrol left the scene in a hurry after almost colliding with a group of young men who were attempting to block his vehicle in protest.
Finally, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abdel Hadi, said in a statement that his movement was “fully respecting the cease-fire” with Israel in Lebanon and was coordinating with the Lebanese state, adding that the unclaimed rocket attacks on the territory of Israel on March 22 and 28, which provoked deadly retaliation on Lebanon, were “individual acts.” The statement recalls that three suspects have already been handed over to the Lebanese authorities, and specifies that a fourth is still being sought. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected in Beirut in 12 days to discuss “extending the authority” of the Lebanese authorities to Palestinian refugee camps beyond their control, Abdel Hadi assured us that “no official authority has made any request” concerning Palestinian arms, explaining that “the day the Lebanese state does so, we will respond with a unified Palestinian position, taking into account both the sovereignty and the interests of Lebanon, as well as those of the Palestinian people.”
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
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