The rubble left behind by the Israeli strike on Majdal Selm (Bint Jbeil) on April 28, 2026, the day following the attack. (Photo shared by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
SOUTH LEBANON — There has been no peace in southern Lebanon, with Israel continuing its daily deadly attacks, even as the truce currently in place between Lebanon and Israel enters its 13th day.
In the early afternoon on Wednesday, the Lebanese Army confirmed that one of its soldiers and his brother had been killed by the Israeli army in a strike on Kherbet Selm in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon. The two were riding a motorcycle from the soldier's post toward their home in the village of Souaneh (Marjayoun) when they were targeted, the army's statement said. The attack was reported around noon by our correspondent in the region.
This is the first time Israel has killed a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces since the cease-fire went into effect on April 17. Before this, three soldiers had been killed in other Israeli attacks on March 17 in Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr, Doueir, and Zibdin (Nabatieh), and another on March 30 in Qleileh (Sour).
The Lebanese Army gave details about the soldier killed in Kherbet Selm (Bint Jbeil), stating in a message on X that his name was Hussein Ahmad Soultane, born May 1, 1996, in Souaneh. He had been decorated several times by the army's commander in chief. He was married and leaves behind a child.
Series of deadly attacks
The soldier and his brother were not the only victims of Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon today. In the late morning, another Israeli drone strike killed two people on the Shaaitieh road (Sour).
In the morning, our correspondent also reported that the death toll from the Israeli strike on Jibsheet (Nabatieh), on Tuesday evening, had risen from two to five, all from the same family. The victims were Mohammad Jaouad Bahja, his wife Lotfiya, his daughter Mariam Hilal Bahja, his son Ali al-Rida Hilal Bahja, and Amani Jaber, who was reportedly the latter's wife, according to our correspondent.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army also targeted a motorcycle with a drone in Burj Qalaway (Bint Jbeil), killing at least one person, about an hour after targeting both that locality and the neighboring village of Qalawieh. Another drone strike, this time in Mansouri (Sour), seriously injured the rider of another motorcycle. In the afternoon, the Islamic Health Committee, affiliated with Hezbollah, said it had evacuated three bodies, members of the Diab family, and reopened roads after a strike on Haniyeh (Sour).
In Jwayya (Sour), the bodies of two women were pulled from under the rubble caused by yet another strike, while at least four people were still believed to be trapped as of 3 p.m. First responders also intervened in Majdal Selm (Bint Jbeil) during the day to search the rubble for possible survivors. That locality had been struck the previous day.
Funerals for Civil Defense members
According to the latest numbers released by the Health Ministry on Tuesday night, Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed 2,534 people and wounded 7,863. President Joseph Aoun welcomed the family of two victims, Georges and his son Elie Said who were shot dead by Israeli troops on a road between the villages of Dibil and Rmeish, in Bint Jbeil, on March 28. During the meeting, Aoun, who is under pressure from Washington to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming weeks, said that "measures" were under way to "support the resilience of inhabitants of border villages" and "consolidate the cease-fire and put an end to the destruction of homes in the southern villages occupied" by Israel.
Funerals for the three Civil Defense members Israel killed Tuesday in a double strike on Majdal Zoun (Sour) are set to take place on Thursday in Sour. The killings were condemned by the president, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as well as various ministers and political leaders.
Israel, meanwhile, continues to strike southern Lebanon and destroy homes in the so-called "buffer zone" area where it seeks to establish a de facto occupation reminiscent of the Gaza model. Braasheet and Beit Yahoun (Bint Jbeil), Debaal, Jwayya, and Mansouri (Sour), as well as Burj Qalaway, were all targeted throughout the day.
Home demolitions in Sour and Bint Jbeil
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Israeli army continued its strikes and home demolition operations in the districts of Sour and Bint Jbeil. It also blew up homes in Shamaa, Naqoura (Sour), and Hanine (Bint Jbeil), the latter of which was then bombed again at dawn.
Two artillery strikes were also carried out near Majdal Zoun (Sour). In addition, Israel fired flare shells in the sky over Mazraat Bastara, near the village of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya). Israel also targeted Khiam (Marjayoun) with a strike and machine-gun fire, our correspondent adds.
On the communications front, Israel claimed to have killed three Hezbollah fighters preparing an attack on its soldiers and said that at least one of its soldiers had been wounded by explosive drones launched by Hezbollah. No details on the locations of these attacks were released. Alarm sirens also sounded several times in northern Israel, and the Israeli army said it intercepted at least two drones launched from Lebanon. Later, rockets were also fired from Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah claimed in a statement several attacks carried out the previous day in Qantara (Marjayoun), at 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., first targeting two Israeli Merkava tanks with drones, then a grouping of Israeli soldiers with rocket fire. It was in this locality that the Israeli army claimed on Tuesday it had discovered and destroyed an important Hezbollah tunnel, targeting the mountainous village with intense strikes.
Hassan Fadlallah, the Hezbollah MP elected in the Bint Jbeil district, vowed that the party would thwart Israeli attempts to create a de facto "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon as well as a “new Antoine Lahad” — leader of the South Lebanon Army, a militia acting as an auxiliary to the Israeli army in southern Lebanon between 1984 and 2000.
“We reaffirm that the enemy’s attempt to establish a security belt on our land and to recreate a new Antoine Lahad in the region will be thwarted thanks to the sacrifices of the resistance and the resilience of our people,” he said, without elaborating further on this point.
He also criticized the approach taken by the Lebanese authorities, who have chosen to disarm Hezbollah and launch negotiations with Israel. “Faced with the daily spectacle of the killing of defenseless civilians in the South and the systematic destruction of our border villages, it is essential that the authorities and their representatives immediately abandon any concessions, cease their inflammatory and treasonous rhetoric, and put an end to their hostility towards a large section of the Lebanese people,” the MP declared.
He argued that such actions deprive the authorities of their legitimacy and popular support. “Whatever they do, they will not be able to secure national backing for their direct negotiations with the enemy,” he further insisted.
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