A cloud of smoke rises in Toul, southern Lebanon, after an Israeli strike on May 22, 2025. (Photo provided by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.)
Israel carried out several strikes on Thursday against targets in southern Lebanon, where local elections are scheduled for this Saturday despite security threats. This sudden escalation could be interpreted as a way to influence the vote by demobilizing Hezbollah's base.
The Israeli army issued an evacuation notice to people near a building in the village of Toul, located north of the Litani, on the outskirts of Nabatieh. Shortly after, an air raid targeted the threatened building, following a warning strike, destroying it and causing significant damage to neighboring buildings. The Israeli air force then conducted an unannounced strike targeting the surroundings of the village of Touline (Marjayoun district), with two missiles.
According to our correspondent Mounstasser Abdallah, this strike targeted an area close to a public school where the Lebanese army was supposed to go on Friday morning to prepare it to be an electoral center. The Israeli air force later struck the heights of Rihane (Jezzine district), as well as the al-Azziyeh valley, south of Sour, and Borghoz (Hasbaya district).
An Israeli drone also carried out a raid on an area between Robb Thalathin and Markaba in the Marjayoun district, killing one person. At the same time, a person from Wazzani (Marjayoun) was injured by gunfire from Israeli soldiers stationed opposite the village. The Israeli army also shelled the surroundings of Bouday, a village in the Bekaa located about fifteen kilometers west of Baalbeck, Lebanon, according to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.
Contacts to ‘end the Israeli aggression’
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam emphasized, during a meeting Thursday with the Mufti of the Republic, Abdellatif Deriane, that "the government is conducting contacts, diplomatic and political initiatives, both Arab and international, to end the ongoing Israeli aggression."
Mr. Salam also stated that "the government has made significant progress in tangible reforms that directly affect citizens in various fields and continues its reform efforts at economic and social levels, including activating state institutions that encompass everyone, based on the Taif Agreement and the Constitution."
The prime minister also stressed that "Lebanon's relations with its Arab brothers have begun to return to normal and are now at an advanced stage of cooperation and support for the good of the country."
For his part, Mufti Deriane expressed his willingness to "support the government and its head in inclusive national work and implemented reforms," calling for "more achievements that the Lebanese people expect, especially the quick resolution of the issue of Lebanese and foreign detainees, particularly Islamists, who have been detained for a long time without a fair trial."
Haykal's agenda
Meanwhile, the chief of the army, General Rodolph Haykal, said Thursday that daily Israeli violations in southern Lebanon "hinder the full deployment of the army" south of the Litani. He was speaking on the 25th anniversary of the Israeli army's withdrawal from the South on May 25, 2000, after years of occupying this region since the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990).
General Haykal congratulated the troops for "their resistance, which is one of the most important reasons for Lebanon's survival, the unity of the Lebanese, and their security," as well as for their "intensive work to expand the authority of the state."
The commemoration of May 25 takes place this year as the Israeli army continues to occupy five positions it considers "strategic" in southern Lebanon, even though they were supposed to fully withdraw after their ground offensive launched in September 2024, amid escalating conflict with Hezbollah.
"This commemoration occurs during a heavy and dangerous phase, following a comprehensive aggression launched by the Israeli enemy against Lebanon, particularly in the south of the country, which has caused thousands of martyrs and injuries and widespread destruction of property and infrastructure," added General Haykal.
Addressing the troops, General Haykal praised their "intensive work to extend the authority of the state over the entire Lebanese territory, implement international resolutions in close coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and the cease-fire monitoring committee, ensure the army's deployment in southern Lebanon, and accompany the return of populations to their villages."
Hezbollah remains committed to the ‘choice of resistance’
Hezbollah, for its part, emphasized the importance of the "choice of resistance [...] which has enabled the liberation of [Lebanese] land," in a statement published Thursday following their weekly meeting. "Today, parts of the country are occupied after the last Zionist aggression. Given the failures of the international community [...] to force the enemy to respect U.N. resolution 1701 while Lebanon complies with it, Lebanon and the Lebanese have the right to defend themselves and their sovereignty and lands. This proves the necessity and effectiveness of resistance," said the party.
Hezbollah also called to "reject normalization projects with the Israeli occupation" and urged Lebanese leaders to "arm themselves with wisdom and courage to serve the country's interests, away from the pressures of the American administration that serve the interests of the Israeli enemy."
"We insist on the need for the government to hold the [American] administration accountable for upholding the cease-fire and for the continued occupation and daily attacks that are preventing the Lebanese from rebuilding their homes," added the party.
