Smoke rises from the Lebanese village of Khiam after an Israeli strike on March 17, 2026. (Credit: Odd Andersen/AFP)
Intense fighting continued Thursday in Khiam, a border town in the district of Marjayoun, between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. Artillery fire and volleys of sustained gunfire were reported in the region, which continues to be regularly targeted with airstrikes.
Khiam is a strategic locality in the eastern sector of the border zone, overlooking part of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. It was also the scene of intense fighting during the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah, which resulted in a largely one-sided cease-fire between the two parties in November 2024.
Israel proceeded to destroy dozens of buildings in the village during the period following the cease-fire, despite the truce stipulating a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory. Tel Aviv, instead, never withdrew from its outpost on the Hamames hill, south of the city, and continued to occupy it illegally together with at least five other positions along the border.
Israeli troops "are almost on the verge of capturing" Khiam, while they were still "in the middle of the locality" just last week, a source close to the United Nations told AFP.
The Israeli army "advances by one or two kilometers a day in the south and systematically destroys the localities it enters," this source added on condition of anonymity, citing the villages of Kfar Kila and Aitaroun as examples.
Israeli troops "razed with bulldozers what was not destroyed by airstrikes or artillery," the source said, confirming that "ground fighting is pitting them against Hezbollah, whose fighters are fighting in small groups."
Overnight, clashes also took place near Taybeh, further south, and Hezbollah claimed numerous guided missile strikes on Israeli army advances, saying it had destroyed several Merkava tanks.
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