Israeli army backs down from bombing building after unprecedented Lebanese Army search

A first since the cease-fire. The Israeli army reversed its decision on Saturday to strike a building in the village of Yanouh (Sour district) that it had previously ordered to be evacuated, after the Lebanese Army searched the house. The move is unprecedented: until now, the Lebanese Army had refrained from searching private homes as part of its mission to disarm Hezbollah, in an effort to avoid tensions.

The episode began in the morning, when the Lebanese Army, in coordination with UNIFIL, inspected a house in Yanouh at the request of the cease-fire monitoring committee (the ‘’Mechanism’’), reports our correspondent in southern Lebanon. As the soldiers and peacekeepers were about to leave empty-handed, an Israeli drone flew over the area, and UNIFIL received a request for a second search. The decision angered the homeowner, who, along with other residents, attempted to forcibly drive the peacekeepers away and prevent them from re-entering. A video sent to our correspondent shows palpable tension in the area.

The Israeli army then issued a call to evacuate the building. ‘’The Israeli army will soon attack Hezbollah military infrastructure, in response to the group’s illegal attempts to restore its activities in the area,’’ warned the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, in a post on X.

A second search was immediately launched by the Lebanese Army following the Israeli warning, in the presence of the building’s residents and the village’s mayor, Ali Youssef Jaber. The mayor said the army was ‘’trying to avert a potential disaster, as the house is three stories high and home to three families.’’ According to our correspondent, the search focused on the ground floor, where troops carried out limited excavations.

Israeli army backtracks

In a new statement published around 6:30 p.m., the Israeli army said it had ‘’suspended’’ its strike. ‘’Earlier today, a warning was issued to evacuate the residents of a building in the Yanouh area of southern Lebanon. Following this warning, the Lebanese Army again requested access to the designated site, which had been declared illegal, in order to address a violation of the cease-fire agreement,’’ wrote Avichay Adraee on X. He added that ‘’the Israeli army decided to approve this request and, accordingly, the strike was temporarily suspended,’’ while noting that the army ‘’continues to monitor the target and remains in contact with the Mechanism.’’

Around 7 p.m., the Lebanese Army announced that it had completed its search of the building. Sources within the village said no weapons were found inside.

UNIFIL, for its part, said that ‘’peacekeepers went to Yanouh with the Lebanese Army to support an inspection it was conducting, without entering any building.’’ The peacekeepers ‘’left the area at the end of the operation,’’ UNIFIL spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel said. ‘’We subsequently received information through the Mechanism that Israeli forces intended to carry out a strike on Yanouh. We reminded them that this would constitute a violation of Resolution 1701,’’ she added.

Last month, Israel pressured the Lebanese army to step up the disarmament of Hezbollah, particularly by searching certain private properties in southern Lebanon, according to Reuters, citing security officials in Lebanon and Israel. The request was rejected by the Lebanese military command, which feared it could trigger civil unrest.

Israeli attacks continue

Israel nevertheless continued its attacks in southern Lebanon on Saturday, which it says are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from regrouping. An Israeli drone dropped a second sound bomb on Ras Naqoura (Sour district) in the afternoon, after a first was dropped in the morning on the same border village.

Since the Council of Ministers’ Aug. 5 decision to restore the state’s monopoly on weapons, Hezbollah has refused to surrender its arsenal across Lebanese territory, while saying it is ready to cooperate in the area south of the Litani River. Tasked in September with drafting and implementing a disarmament plan, the Lebanese Army says it has completed most of the first phase of operations south of the river. These efforts are expected to continue at least until the end of the year.