A Lebanese flag in the village of Shebaa in south Lebanon, facing the Israeli military position known as the "Radar," near the occupied Shebaa Farms, on July 23, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient Today)
The Lebanese Army is currently searching three houses in Beit Yahoun and Beit Lif, both in Bint Jbeil, for alleged weapons at the request of the cease-fire monitoring mechanism, our correspondent in the south reported Saturday.
According to the correspondent, Lebanese Army Intelligence called the owner of a house in Beit Yahoun, Ali Kamal Bazzi, shortly after midnight Friday, asking whether he had returned from Venezuela. Bazzi confirmed that he is in Lebanon and currently staying in Haret Hreik, in the southern suburb of Beirut. He was then asked to provide the house key so the property could be searched at the request of the “mechanism,” noting that the house is empty and unoccupied. He complied.
Today, the Lebanese Army is conducting searches at Bazzi’s house in Beit Yahoun, as well as a second house in Beit Lif. The army remains inside the Beit Yahoun house, accompanied by the mayor and the local moukhtar.
Addressing rumors about weapons in the house, Bazzi denied any presence of arms, saying there are no weapons of any kind, “not even a single cartridge,” and emphasizing that he is an expatriate who visits Lebanon only briefly.
The moukhtar of Beit Yahoun, Mustafa Makki, told journalists in a video, “On Dec. 27, 2025, we were contacted by the Lebanese Army, which informed us that the ‘Mechanism’ requested a search of a house in Beit Yahoun alleged to contain weapons. We agreed to accompany the army step by step to show the public that the house contains no weapons. As a municipality, we are certain the house is empty, but we will remain present during the search and provide updates afterward.”
In mid-December, the Israeli army backed down from its plan to strike a building in Yanouh (Sour), a first since the cease-fire, after ordering residents to evacuate. The withdrawal followed a Lebanese Army house-search operation at the site.
Speaking to L’Orient Today, the head of the Beit Lif municipality said the Lebanese Army is currently searching two houses in the town, one inside the town and another on its outskirts, both under security measures. “No one is objecting to these actions, and the Lebanese Army is taking the necessary procedures in this regard,” the official said.
According to the head of Beit Yahoun's municipality, the Lebanese Army has completed an inspection of an uninhabited house in the town of Beit Yahoun, without finding any weapons, contrary to what the Israeli enemy claimed through the mechanism, our cooperation reported.
The deputy head of Beit Yahoun's municipality, Ahmad Makki, told L'Orient that what happened in Beit Yahoun and other villages is "nothing but a farce fabricated under the pretext of the presence of weapons in the homes of the town’s residents."
"The inspection of the house by the mechanism confirms the reality and decisively refutes the false accusations and misinformation practiced by the enemy here and there, in an attempt to humiliate people and enter private properties."
He noted that "we always stand with the army to thwart all attempts at stirring strife plotted by the enemy, both internally and externally. We call on the state and on all sovereign actors, under all their titles, to unite and work toward consolidating efforts in what serves the interest of the nation."
The head of Beit Leif's municipality, Ezzat Hammoud, stated that the "owners of four houses were notified by the Lebanese Army, through the Mechanism Committee, of the need to inspect their homes in the town due to Israeli allegations that they contained weapons depots."
"The committee and the Lebanese Army proceeded to the town and carried out inspections of the houses. After the inspections, it was confirmed that the homes were free of any weapons or military equipment, and that the claims made by the Israeli side were unfounded," Hammoud concluded.
A UNIFIL patrol entered the town of al-Ahmadiya (Hasbaya) without an escort from the Lebanese Army, prompting residents to block its passage, after which patrol members threw smoke grenades toward the crowd, our correspondent in the south reported.
Israeli gunfire reported near Blida
Israeli forces opened fire with automatic weapons toward the outskirts of the town of Blida in the Marjayoun district on Saturday morning, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in southern Lebanon reported.
The sweeping fire followed overnight attacks carried out by the Israeli army, according to the correspondent.
After 9 p.m. Friday, Israeli forces fired medium automatic weapons toward the outskirts of the town of Kfar Shuba in the Hasbaya district. After 10 p.m., an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the Hay al-Dabbakeh neighborhood in the town of Mais al-Jabal, in Marjayoun, while a second drone dropped a stun grenade in the center of the town of Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district.
A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in November 2024, following 13 months of fighting that began in October 2023. However, the Israeli army has violated the agreement more than 12,000 times — almost daily — through incursions, airstrikes, artillery fire, building demolitions, shootings targeting civilians, abductions, booby-trapped structures and the establishment of military outposts on Lebanese territory, according to local reporting.
These attacks have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon.
The Israeli army says its operations target Hezbollah regrouping efforts. Israeli officials have also pressed Lebanese authorities for the group’s full disarmament, even as the Lebanese Army has dismantled Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River and is preparing to move to the second phase of its disarmament plan.
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah
