A Lebanese Army soldier stands behind barbed wire facing Israeli soldiers in Khiam, South Lebanon, Marjayoun district. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
SOUTH LEBANON — Israeli forces continued demolition operations and artillery attacks across southern Lebanon overnight into Saturday, burning and destroying homes in Bint Jbeil, carrying out demolitions in several border villages, and shelling areas in the Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun and Sour districts, according to local media reports.
In the Bint Jbeil district, Israeli forces set fire to and demolished several homes in the city of Bint Jbeil, particularly in the Saff al-Hawa neighborhood and along the road to Ainata, causing extensive damage to homes and surrounding infrastructure. Artillery also shelled Hadatha while troops opened machine-gun fire toward the town.
In the Nabatieh district, Israeli forces carried out a large-scale demolition operation in Kfar Tebnit, while artillery repeatedly targeted the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and fired more than seven shells toward the Ali al-Taher heights. Rescue teams also recovered the body of a person killed in Zawtar al-Gharbieh.
In the Marjayoun district, Israeli forces demolished structures between Markaba and Houla.
In the Sour district, demolition operations targeted Majdal Zoun and Meshaa al-Mansouri, where additional homes were destroyed. Israeli forces also intensified machine-gun fire as military vehicles advanced into the area between Majdal Zoun and Mansouri, establishing a position opposite a Lebanese Army checkpoint. Lebanese troops took precautionary measures as heavy machine-gun fire continued toward Majdal Zoun.
Local reports indicated Israeli forces carried out 12 demolition operations targeting homes and infrastructure across eight towns Friday, while homes in another village were set on fire. A drone also dropped a sound bomb on one town.
Late Friday, the Bint Jbeil municipality condemned what it described as the systematic destruction of public facilities and civilian infrastructure by Israel, accusing it of violating international humanitarian law.
In a statement, the municipality said the latest attack destroyed three public institutions in the al-Aouini neighborhood: Bint Jbeil Second Official Mixed School, a social affairs center housing a nursery and medical clinic, and a local office for the regional water utility.
The municipality said previous Israeli attacks had damaged or destroyed educational, medical, religious and administrative institutions, including schools, a Lebanese Red Cross center, a Lebanese University building, emergency health centers, two local hospitals, mosques and other public facilities.
Power and water infrastructure, roads, government buildings, a municipal stadium, and thousands of homes and businesses have also been damaged or destroyed, the statement said.
The municipality added that the scale of destruction, coupled with Israeli calls for large areas of southern Lebanon to be made uninhabitable, reflects a systematic policy aimed at displacing residents and imposing a new reality by force, actions it described as potential war crimes.
Reporting contributed by our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.
