Sister Maria Wehbé stands in the courtyard of the Antonine school damaged by Israeli bombings in Nabatieh, on April 20, 2026, in southern Lebanon. Photo Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP Sister Maria Wehbe stands in the damaged courtyard of the Antonine nuns school in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on April 20, 2026. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat / AFP)
Despite the implementation of a ten-day cease-fire since Friday, and as new direct talks between Lebanon and Israel are set to take place Thursday in Washington, the situation in southern Lebanon remains tense. Israeli military operations continue, accompanied by new threats against the head of Hezbollah. Fighter jets carried out their first strike on Tuesday since the start of the truce.
The Israeli army has also reiterated its ban on residents returning to their hometowns and continues to conduct artillery shelling, airstrikes, and the demolition of homes and civilian infrastructure in several areas of the South. According to official reports, 2,387 people have been killed in Lebanon in six weeks of war.
Israel orders residents of the South not to return home
In a message posted on X by its Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army ordered residents of southern Lebanon not to return to their localities or approach the "buffer zone" it has set up, publishing a map to that effect.
In total, residents of 47 southern localities were explicitly banned from returning, including: Bayyada, Shamaa, Tay Harfa, Abu Shech, Naqoura, Jabbayn, Dhaira, Matmoura, Yarine, Zalloutieh, Oum Touteh, Beit Lif, Boustan, Shihine, Marwahine, Ramaya, Salhani, Aita al-Shaab, Hanine, Tiri, Rshaf, Yaroun, Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil, Ainata, Kounin, Aitaroun, Blida, Maihabib, Mais al-Jabal, Qalaat al-Dibbeh, Houla, Markaba, Tallousseh, Bani Hayyan, Robb Thalathin, Odaisseh, Kfar Kila, Taybeh, Deir Siryan, Qantara, Aalman Marjayoun, Odaisseh, al-Qasr, Labbouneh, Iskandarouna, and Maissat.
First fighter jet strike
On the ground, military operations are continuing. An Israeli fighter jet carried out a strike in southern Lebanon for the first time since the start of the cease-fire. According to our correspondent, the strike targeted the Wadi Houjeir valley, one of the geographical boundaries of the “buffer zone” Israel seeks to impose in the area north of the Blue Line.
Until now, the Israeli army had conducted several drone strikes since the cease-fire began, including one on Monday that left six people injured in Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr (Nabatieh district).
Additionally, artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Shebaa and Kfar Shuba in the Hasbaya district, as well as Kounin and Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil region. In the Sour district, machine-gun fire hit Shamaa and Tayr Harfa, where residences were set ablaze. In Yohmor al-Shaqif (Nabatieh), artillery fire and phosphorus munitions were also reported.
Demolition operations continue
At the same time, the Israeli army intensified its demolition operations. In Rshaf, a complex in the public square — including the former mosque, the Abou Zirr shrine, and the Martyrs’ cemetery— was destroyed, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
Other demolitions were reported in Robb Thalathin, Qantara (Marjayoun), Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), Shamaa, Bayyada, and Naqoura (Sour).
The public technical school of the Martyrs of Khiam was completely destroyed after explosives were placed inside the building. Demolitions continued across several neighborhoods of the city, reaching areas near the former detention center. Israeli helicopters flew continuously over the area until dawn, including over Debbine and Jdeidet Marjayoun.
Other civilian infrastructure was also targeted. Following the burning of ambulances belonging to the Amal Movement’s civil defense, the Imam Sadr sports complex in Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) was destroyed overnight. The complex, built by the South Council and inaugurated under the patronage of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of Amal, had been a major sports facility for the region, hosting basketball, volleyball, and other activities.
The Israeli army is continuing in southern Lebanon a strategy similar to the one it employed in the Gaza Strip, destroying both public and private infrastructure in the villages it occupies in order to prevent the long-term return of the population.
Katz threatens Qassem
In this context, Kandice Ardiel, spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), described an "unpredictable" situation, despite hope for a relative continuation of calm, as new negotiations between Lebanon and Israel could start to extend the truce.
Politically and militarily, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated his country's objectives of dismantling Hezbollah, once again directly threatening the party's secretary-general, Naim Qassem. During an official ceremony in Jerusalem, he stated that Qassem "will pay with his head" in the event of further attacks on Israel, adding that the army would continue to act "with force, including during the cease-fire," to guarantee the security of residents in northern Israel.
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