A car catches fire on the main road between Shoukrine and Nabatieh (Nabatieh district), after an Israeli drone strike, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Credit: Photo sent to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah)
SOUTH LEBANON — The Israeli army continued its violations of the cease-fire on Thursday, killing three people in a drone strike in Shoukin (Nabatieh), and demolishing homes in southern Lebanon.
For its part, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for three attacks on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli army reported intercepting projectiles in the area. The Israeli army also reiterated its call not to travel to villages in the "buffer zone" it wants to establish, extending 8 to 10 kilometers into southern Lebanon.
More broadly, the day was marked by tributes and outrage following the death the previous day of journalist Amal Khalil of the daily al-Akhbar, killed by Israel in an airstrike in Tiri (Bint Jbeil).
These developments come as much-awaited negotiations were set to take place in the afternoon in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, with Beirut hoping for an extension of the fragile ceasefire.
Demolitions continue
The Israeli drone strike took place Thursday in the late afternoon and targeted a car traveling on the main road between Nabatieh and Shoukin, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. The identities of the three victims were not immediately known. The health ministry also reported three deaths.
The Israeli army also continued its demolitions in the Marjayoun, Sour, and Bint Jbeil districts. In the Sour district, demolitions of houses took place in Bayada, and an explosion was reported in the locality of Shamaa.
Israeli artillery and machine-gun fire targeted the outskirts of the village of Hadatha, and explosions were heard in the village of Rshaf, at the same time as intense machine-gun fire was directed at homes in the Bint Jbeil district. Israeli artillery strikes also targeted the outskirts of Yohmor al-Chaqif, in the Nabatieh district.
In the Marjayoun district, demolitions of homes took place in Deir Seryan, a powerful explosion was caused by the Israeli army in the Beit Idriss neighborhood of Khiam, and in Taybeh. In addition, the Israeli army set fire to several houses in a western neighborhood of Mais al-Jabal, while during the night it carried out an explosion in Khiam.
Automatic weapon and artillery fire also targeted Qantara overnight, in the same region. The Israeli army also blocked the road linking Shebaa to Kfar Shuba (both in the Hasbaya district), at the Baraket al-Nakkar area, using an earthen embankment.
The Israeli army simultaneously addressed an "urgent message to the inhabitants of South Lebanon," reiterating its call not to travel to villages located along and south of the "buffer zone" it wants to establish. "We remind you that, despite the cease-fire agreement, the Israeli army maintains its positions in southern Lebanon in response to the terrorist activities of Hezbollah. For your safety and that of your families, and until further notice, you are asked not to travel south of the designated villages and their surroundings," the statement said, accompanied by a map showing the so-called zone.
"It is also forbidden to approach the Litani River, the Wadi al-Salhani, and the Wadi al-Slouki," the message continued.
Hezbollah command post in Khiam
As part of its operations in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army says it has discovered an "underground Hezbollah command post, located 25 meters deep inside a clothing store," in Khiam.
"Inside, weapons as well as rooms used to conduct combat operations by members of Hezbollah were discovered," said the spokesperson, who released a purported video of the discovery. "The Israeli army will continue its operations to clear the area under its control," he added.
Israel also claimed it killed a "Hezbollah fighter, who was operating at a rocket launch site" in Sejoud, in the Jezzine district, north of the Litani, in a strike on Wednesday. No airstrike was reported there that day, but the Israeli army had bombed the neighboring region of Jabbour by fighter jet. Jabbour is located on the heights of the Jezzine district and overlooks the Bekaa. The army also announced the capture of a member of the al-Radwan force, Hezbollah’s elite unit, during an operation in southern Lebanon led by the 300th Brigade.
For its part, Hezbollah said it carried out three attacks in the morning on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli army reported intercepting projectiles in the area. According to the militia-party, its fighters launched an attack at 6 a.m. on Israeli soldiers in Taybeh with unspecified weapons, before sending a kamikaze drone at 10 a.m. against troops in the same village in the Marjayoun district. Hezbollah also claimed to have shot down, thirty minutes later, an Israeli army reconnaissancae drone over Majdel Zoun, in the Sour district.
Reporting by our regional correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.
