Nabatieh remains at center of Israeli attacks, advances

BEIRUT — The Nabatieh region, north of the Litani River, remained the focus of Israeli military attacks in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, despite the cessation of hostilities supposedly included in the memorandum of understanding negotiated between Iran and the United States.

Israeli forces continued their attempts to advance on a strategic hill overlooking the area. Alongside these efforts, Israeli aircraft and artillery continued to bombard the vicinity of Nabatieh, though no casualties were reported so far.

According to our correspondent, intense clashes erupted between the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters around the strategic hill of Ali al-Taher, southeast of Nabatieh.

Without specifying the exact location of the attack, the Israeli army announced that one soldier was seriously wounded, two others moderately wounded, and two others slightly wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped drone in southern Lebanon. The wounded were evacuated to a hospital for treatment, it added.

The Hezbollah-affiliated party, which has not yet commented on the clashes, reportedly repelled the attacks, notably by using guided missiles against Merkava tanks and Israeli military vehicles. They also fired projectiles at the occupying forces near Kfar Tibnit.

This occurred while the Israeli advance was taking place under the cover of intense artillery and air strikes, particularly on Nabatieh Fawqa, Kfar Tibnit, Kfar Joz, Kfar Roummane, Mayfadoun, the outskirts of Arnoun, and Habboush.

Sporadic artillery fire continued to target Kfar Tibnit and Nabatieh Fawqa. The area around the teacher training institute in the city of Nabatieh was among the targets, according to information relayed by our correspondent.

On another axis, in the central sector, two Israeli armored vehicles, accompanied by a bulldozer, were filmed advancing into the village of Haddatha (Bint Jbeil district), according to our reporter in the region. Intense fighting has pitted the Israeli army against Hezbollah fighters in this locality in recent weeks.

Israeli forces carried out another ground movement in Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, before withdrawing toward Sarda and Amra, south of the town. Local sources said the maneuver could form part of a broader redeployment of Israeli troops in the area.

In the mid-afternoon, according to our correspondent, the Israeli army carried out further repositioning of its forces in several sectors of the Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun districts. In Kounin (Bint Jbeil), Israeli military vehicles left the entrance to the town to move to other positions within the village.

Others were observed on several roads, including the Kounin-Ainata road, the Kounin-Saf al-Hawa-Bint Jbeil road, as well as at the entrance to Ainata heading towards Bint Jbeil. Israeli soldiers also left the outskirts of Braasheet (Bint Jbeil) to reposition themselves on the Ainata-Aitaroun road, which overlooks the town. At the same time, soldiers and military vehicles left the Haddatha and Tiri sectors to move to positions further south, while the Israeli army reduced its presence in Zawtar al-Sharqieh.

Further artillery fire targeted the Jabal Rafih area in the Aaramta hills of Jezzine district, while five people sustained minor injuries in two Israeli drone strikes in the village of Mansouri (Sour district), reports our correspondent in southern Lebanon. A third drone strike was reported in Braasheet (Bint Jbeil district). Israeli soldiers also opened fire on a car in Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district).

At 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, an Israeli drone carrying explosives crashed in an open area near the Hussein Taleb restaurant in Ansarieh (Saida district), causing only material damage. Earlier, around 5 a.m., the area around the Nabih Berri government hospital and the Sisters' quarter in Nabatieh were also targeted by artillery fire, which notably hit the building of the Taqaddom al-Mara charity.

Earlier, around 5 a.m., Israeli artillery struck the vicinity of the Nabih Berri Governmental Hospital in Nabatieh, hitting, among other sites, the building of the Taqaddom al-Mara charitable association.

Israeli strikes on four different towns in south Lebanon killed six people on Tuesday, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent, despite an ongoing cease-fire, as thousands of displaced residents continued to return home. An unexploded munition killed a seventh person.

In response to these attacks, the Iranian army threatened a "severe response" to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, despite the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic to end the war, according to state media.

"If the infanticidal army of the Zionist regime does not cease its aggression in southern Lebanon, it should expect a severe response from the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," warned the Khatam al-Anbiya Armed Forces Command in a statement quoted by state television IRIB.

According to its count, Israel has violated the ceasefire in Lebanon 84 times since the agreement was announced on Monday. Meanwhile, the far-right Israeli Finance Minister ruled out any Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon yesterday in an interview on the pro-government Israeli Channel 14.

"There will be no withdrawal from Lebanon, neither before Friday nor after." “We will remain in South Lebanon and strengthen our presence there,” he said. “As long as Hezbollah is not disarmed, we will remain there permanently, for as long as necessary, while preserving the army’s full freedom of action.”