The Israeli strike on a wooded area in the Jarmaq region, as seen from a nearby restaurant, on Sept. 28, 2025. (Photo shared by our correspondent, Muntasser Abdallah)
After a morning of low-flying drones over Beirut, Israel further broke whatever short, fragile calm had prevailed in Lebanon following the ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's assassination with two strikes on two separate areas in the south.
The strikes caused no casualties but indirectly responded to the war rhetoric employed Saturday night by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, who once again ruled out any prospect of disarmament and assured that the party's fighters were once again ready to face-off with Israel.
That same evening, Hamas issued a statement paying tribute to the former Hezbollah leader, saying he had been killed for "his positions and heroic role in his constant support of the Palestinian resistance." The group also expressed "its full solidarity with brotherly Lebanon, which today faces attacks by the occupier." The Israeli army violates almost daily the ceasefire reached late last November with Hezbollah and still occupies six sites deemed strategic in south Lebanon.
A forest and a house
In its first strike, the Israeli air force fired three missiles at a wooded area in Jarmaq (Jezzine), according to our correspondent in the south. The impacts were filmed by several nearby residents. As of 7 p.m., no reports of injuries or deaths had been received. Incidentally, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai had visited Jarmaq earlier in the day as part of his second tour of South Lebanon since August.
The second strike took place shortly after in the Nabatieh district. A drone hit a house on the side of Houmine al-Fawqa. First responders went to the scene, but no casualties were reported. The Israeli army said it had struck "Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon," after targeting the Jezzine and Nabatieh districts. "These weapon depots were used by the terrorist organization to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the State of Israel," it claimed in a message posted on its Telegram account.
Other incidents involving the Israeli army occurred in south Lebanon since Saturday night, again without any deaths or injuries reported.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, shortly after 11 p.m., an Israeli tank positioned at a newly established military site at Jabal Blat fired three artillery shells toward the outskirts of the locality of Ramieh (Bint Jbeil). Israeli forces had erected protective embankments two weeks earlier, raising fears of an intention to maintain that position.
On Sunday morning, an Israeli drone dropped leaflets over a stone quarry in the locality of Dhaira (Sour), bearing an image of the site and a crossed-out Hezbollah logo: "Cooperation with Hezbollah puts your life and your factory at risk! There is no economic benefit to be gained from these suspicious transactions," according to an image of the flyer shared by our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
A similar episode occurred in early September. Midday, leaflets were dropped by the Israeli army, threatening to strike a stone factory owned by Ahmad Aoude, known as "Abou Mohammad," located near the old Khiam prison (Marjayoun). Residents were urged to evacuate the factory and adjoining house.
Finally, early in the afternoon, an Israeli drone dropped two stun grenades on neighborhoods in Naqoura (Sour), with no reported casualties. Fighter jets also flew over the Bekaa in the morning, according to our correspondent in the region.
In the morning, Beirut residents feared the worst after at least one Israeli drone repeatedly flew at low altitude over the southern suburbs of the capital, where commemorations had taken place the day before in the presence of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The drone appeared in a video shared on social media, showing the drone as the sound it made in flight resonated clearly in several neighborhoods of the capital and its outskirts.
Lisa Johnson's farewell
Amid these events, outgoing U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson posted a farewell message on social media at the end of her tenure, as she is about to be replaced by Lebanese-American Michel Issa. She arrived in Beirut on January 11, 2024, replacing Dorothy Shea, who is now part of the U.S. delegation to the U.N.
"As I approach the end of my term in Lebanon as United States ambassador, I want to express my deep gratitude to the Lebanese people for their warmth, generosity and unwavering resilience. Serving in Lebanon, this beautiful country so dear to my heart, has been one of the highlights of my career. I hope you will continue to support this historic moment your country is experiencing and that you will achieve the stable, safe, peaceful and prosperous future you so richly deserve," she wrote in a message posted on the embassy's Instagram and Facebook accounts.
