A drone spotted over the border region of Wadi Khaled in Akkar. (Credit: Michel Hallak.)
BEIRUT —Sunday in South Lebanon was marked by machine gun fire incidents in Khiam and Rmeich, in the districts of Marjeyoun and Bint Jbeil, according to sources from our correspondent.
In the morning, Israeli forces intensively swept the Qatmoun region, near the village of Rmeish in the Bint Jbeil district in South Lebanon, with heavy machine gun fire, according to local sources from our correspondent. Then, the Israeli army fired again with machine guns from the occupied territory of Tallet al-Hamames toward Wadi al-Assafir in the Khiam plain around 4 p.m. and after 6 p.m.
Drones in Lebanese airspace
These Israeli violations of the ceasefire with Lebanon, which has been in effect since November 2024, are daily occurrences in South Lebanon. Since Friday, they have been part of an extremely tense regional situation, since Israel carried out attacks on Iran to halt its nuclear program, and Iran retaliated by launching missiles toward Israeli territory multiple times. The tension is heightened by the fact that Hezbollah is a staunch ally of Iran, and despite the party being severely weakened after its conflict with Israel in 2023-2024, it has conveyed that it would not intervene in the war so far. The Lebanese government has also assured that it has made it clear to Hezbollah that the decision of war and peace now lies solely in its hands.
In the evening, an Israeli drone also crashed near Mais al-Jabal, and an army patrol was dispatched to recover the device.
Although Lebanon is not directly involved in the intense battle between Tehran and Tel Aviv, its airspace is frequently used for the passage of Iranian missiles and drones, as well as Israeli drones and planes heading toward Iran. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, dozens of Iranian missiles were seen in the sky over various Lebanese regions, while Israeli interception missiles exploded above the southern areas. Our correspondent in North Lebanon, reported on Sunday morning that a drone passed over the Wadi Khaled region in Akkar, near the Syrian border, although it was unclear whether it was Iranian or Israeli. During the day, a detonation was heard in the Bekaa during the interception of an Iranian projectile by Israel, causing concerns among residents that it might be a strike on Lebanese territory, according to our correspondent.
An Israeli drone also flew at very low altitude over Beirut and its suburbs throughout the afternoon.