An Israeli demolition in Beni Hayyan, south Lebanon, on Aug. 17, 2026. (Credit: Photo shared by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah and enhanced by L’Orient-Le Jour)
SOUTH LEBANON — Hezbollah said Tuesday, through one of its lawmakers, that it would “not abandon” the strategic Ali Taher hills overlooking the city of Nabatieh, which the Israeli army is reportedly seeking to seize, according to several media outlets. Israel shelled the hills overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine said the group “will stand up to any act of aggression.” “Ali Taher is one of the Resistance’s key positions,” he said, adding that Hezbollah “will fulfill its national duty if Israel attacks the site.” The lawmaker also said that any assistance from Iran in this context would provide an additional source of strength, going so far as to say that Tehran “could establish a new equation regarding Ali Taher.”
Israeli authorities consider Ali Taher to house Hezbollah’s military headquarters in south Lebanon, senior officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as party officials and fighters of other nationalities.
Ezzeddine also said that the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, signed in late June under U.S. auspices, “means nothing” to Hezbollah. Echoing comments made Sunday by the group’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, he stressed that “anger in the streets exists and persists,” but that its use would await “the right time and circumstances.”
Mansouri under Israeli fire
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has heavily targeted Mansouri (Sour district) since last night where it is also seeking to advance. An airstrike hit the village around 3 a.m., followed by artillery fire in the early and late morning, as well as earthmoving operations on communal land. In the early afternoon, Israeli forces destroyed a public water reservoir on the same communal land that supplied the village with water, according to our correspondent. Israeli artillery fire targeted the village again later in the day.
Another notable development in the eastern sector: The Israeli army reportedly installed an “iron barrier” more than a week ago at the bridge in the center of Ain Arab (Marjayoun district), the village’s mukhtar, Othman al-Ahmad, told our correspondent in South Lebanon on Tuesday. He said he did not know the exact reasons for the move, noting that the village remained completely deserted after the Israeli army ordered its residents to evacuate. He added that, administratively, the bridge marks the boundary between the villages of Ibl al-Saqi and Khiam.
On Tuesday evening, the Israeli army carried out demolition operations in three villages in south Lebanon: Houla (Marjayoun district), where several homes were destroyed; Zawtar Sharqieh (Nabatieh district); and Kounin (Bint Jbeil district). The sound of explosions in Kounin was heard in several nearby localities, according to our correspondent in south Lebanon.
In the morning, Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of Mayfadoun and Zawtar Sharqieh (Nabatieh). In the latter village, the Israeli army subsequently set fire to a villa on the outskirts. Israeli soldiers also fired machine guns toward Haddatha and Aita al-Jabal (Bint Jbeil) early in the day. In the Hasbaya district, Israeli forces carried out a demolition operation in the Birket al-Naqqar area, on the outskirts of Shebaa. In the mid-afternoon, artillery fire was reported on the outskirts of Houla (Marjayoun).
During the night, the Israeli air force bombed the outskirts of Deir Siryane (Marjayoun), while artillery targeted Dohat Kfar Roummane (Nabatieh). Around midnight, an Israeli drone also flew at low altitude over residential areas in Zawtar Gharbieh (Nabatieh).
On Monday, Israel bombed at least 10 localities and carried out major demolition operations targeting homes and infrastructure in other parts of South Lebanon. Israel has killed 4,346 people and wounded 12,301 in south Lebanon since the war with Hezbollah resumed on March 2.
Haykal denounces Israeli 'attacks and violations'
Lebanese Army Commander-in-Chief Rodolph Haykal received Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) and a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, in Yarze. During the meeting, he denounced the fact that “the army continues to carry out all missions related to the framework agreement, within the limits of its available means, while the Israeli occupation forces continue their attacks and violations of the arrangements in force under this agreement,” according to an ANI statement.
According to its website, the ATFL is a nonprofit organization made up of “prominent Americans of Lebanese descent” whose mission is to promote the importance of a “strong bilateral relationship” between the United States and Lebanon.
