Destruction in the village of Arnoun, seen from the nearby town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, Aug. 11, 2026. (Credit: AFP)
SOUTH LEBANON — On Wednesday, during a tour of occupied Lebanese villages, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, ordered the Israeli military to prepare administratively and operationally for a long-term presence in Lebanon and to continue destroying “all the houses” and what he described as “terrorist infrastructure.” However, the comments, on this occasion at least, do not appear to have gone down well with the Trump administration, which is currently sponsoring direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
Late on Wednesday night, the U.S. State Department strongly criticized the remarks made by Katz, who stated that Israel would not "withdraw" from the occupied territories in southern Lebanon, arguing that such statements were "not in line with the commitments made under the framework agreement" concluded in June between Lebanon and Israel.
“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the framework they agreed to, and Israel has clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon,” a State Department official said in a statement sent to reporters seeking a response to Katz’s remarks, according to several Israeli media outlets.
“The United States fully supports Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the official added, stressing that the framework agreement negotiated by Washington “clearly includes a conditions-based path for progressive redeployment tied to verified disarmament of Hezbollah and dismantlement of its infrastructure.”
“The Lebanese Armed Forces are implementing the first pilot zone, and the United States will continue to support full implementation of that process,” the official said, referring to Zawtar Gharbieh, where the Lebanese Army began deploying two weeks ago after an Israeli withdrawal from the area. Israeli forces had previously made incursions there and were seen again in the village earlier this week.
This rebuke did not, however, prevent the Israeli army from continuing its demolition operations, shelling and troop movements in southern Lebanon on Thursday, whilst the Lebanese government was meeting in Beirut. During the Cabinet meeting held at the Grand Serail, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Israel’s actions, referring to the “systematic destruction of Lebanese villages” whilst rejecting Katz’s remarks.
President Joseph Aoun traveled to Washington in late July to meet U.S. President Donald Trump and press for greater U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from occupied areas of south Lebanon.
The United States is expected to host a new round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Rome in early September. Lebanon continues to demand the creation of additional “pilot zones,” while Israel has rejected the proposal.
60 apartments destroyed in Kfar Tibnit
Contrary to any prospect of an Israeli withdrawal, Israeli troop movements were observed deep inside Bint Jbeil district on Thursday, in an area between Aita al-Jabal and Beit Yahoun, near the al-Shahid al-Thaleth religious seminary, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. The area is effectively under Israeli military control, he reported.
Israel also targeted the outskirts of the border village of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) with shelling and fired machine-gun rounds from the Ruwaisat al-Alam position. Movements of Israeli Merkava tanks were also observed near the eastern outskirts of this village, according to our correspondent in the South.
Israel carried out a major airstrike in the woods near Aita al-Jabal. At the same time, Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of the villages of Beit Yahoun and Braasheet, in the same region. Also in the district of Bint Jbeil, Israeli drones dropped stun grenades on Yater, as well as on the outskirts of Kfar Kila.
In the Marjayoun district, the Israeli army caused an explosion in Taybeh (Marjayoun). In Bani Hayyan, it carried out machine-gun sweeps and artillery fire, and set fire to several houses on the outskirts of the town.
The Israeli army also caused a major explosion in Majdal Zoun (Sour).
Overnight Wednesday to Thursday, Israeli forces continued shelling alongside demolition operations. Haddatha in Bint Jbeil district was hit by artillery fire, followed by two demolition operations targeting several homes.
Similar machine-gun fire targeted Mansouri in Sour district, where Israeli forces also carried out a demolition operation targeting homes on communal land. Israeli forces subsequently fired medium-caliber machine guns toward the village and carried out an explosion in Khiam (Marjayoun).
Israeli warplanes also carried out two successive strikes on Mansouri overnight, as well as another strike on Deir Siryan (Marjayoun).
The scale of the destruction in south Lebanon was highlighted by the demolition of the Ward residential complex in Kfar Tibnit, Nabatieh district, around 10 days ago. The complex consisted of 14 buildings containing about 60 apartments, according to village mukhtar (local official) Abu Moustapha Yassine, quoted Thursday by our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
“The complex was completely destroyed,” Yassine said. Several other homes in Kfar Tibnit were also targeted in similar demolition operations “in recent days,” he added.
Meanwhile, the public works and transport ministry said it had begun building a temporary crossing over the Litani River in Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr, Nabatieh district, to “restore links between southern regions” and “facilitate residents’ movement.” The project follows the destruction of bridges and other key infrastructure in south Lebanon during Israeli attacks.
Separately, Bruno Pereira da Silva, France’s chargé d’affaires in Lebanon, visited the isolated Christian villages of Rmeish and Ain Ibl (Bint Jbeil) on Tuesday to support “local officials and the population,” the French Embassy said Thursday on X.
The visit focused on France’s support for education and nutrition. Meetings were held with municipalities to demonstrate “France’s commitment to communities in south Lebanon,” according to the embassy.
In Rmeish, da Silva met beneficiaries of a “Food Security and Nutrition” project funded by France and implemented by Action Against Hunger.
