First responders search for survivors among the rubble following an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the village of Ansar, south Lebanon, on Aug. 15, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'OLJ)
SOUTH LEBANON — As Israel maintains its occupation of nearly 700 square kilometers of south Lebanon and carries out fresh demolitions, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has compared the situation to Gaza, calling it "unbearable."
At least one person was killed and three others were injured, following the explosion of a "suspicious object" on a tuk-tuk vehicle in the town of Mayfadoun, in Nabatieh district, according to a civil defense statement. The state-run National News Agency (NNA), which reported two deaths, said the "suspicious object" was a "remnant of an Israeli attack."
"What the south endures is unbearable and may have surpassed what occurred and is occurring in Gaza in terms of crimes and massacres against people, buildings, and heritage, as well as the killing of civilians, in violation of the most basic laws, conventions, and international and humanitarian norms," Berri said before a delegation from the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), in remarks reported by his office.
Echoing the views of President Joseph Aoun, who visited Washington at the end of July, he stated, "The United States is the only country, and its president, Donald Trump, the only president capable of forcing Israel to end its war, to cease fire, and to withdraw to the international border in the south."
"At that time," said the leader of the Amal Movement and key political ally of Hezbollah, "I guarantee the immediate deployment of the Lebanese Army in the area south of the Litani, and that the Lebanese Army will be the only force ensuring security there and the only one authorized to bear arms in the region."
He added that the residents of this area "have the right to return and rebuild it" and that they "aspire to see the Lebanese Army ensure their security and stability."
"We have found that Speaker Berri is very interested in progress regarding pilot zones and personally wants to see those pilot zones succeed," said ATFL President and former U.S. ambassador to Morocco Edward Gabriel. "We expect President Trump to continue working with the Israelis to make them understand that, if they want peace, this is not the way they will achieve it," he continued.
Continued attacks on Ali Taher and Mansouri
Druze leader and former head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt received the ATFL delegation at his home on Clemenceau Street in Beirut. "The situation in Lebanon and the region was discussed during the meeting," NNA reported.
On the ground, the Israeli army continued its attacks overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday against the hills of Ali Taher (Nabatieh), which it is allegedly seeking to capture, as well as the village of Mansouri (Sour district), split in two by the "yellow line" unilaterally established by the Israeli army in south Lebanon.
Around 1 a.m., Israeli warplanes carried out a series of strikes targeting the heights of Ali Taher, Dohat Kfar Roummane in the same district, as well as the outskirts of Deir Syrian, Marjayoun district, according to NNA.
Elsewhere, the Israeli army continued demolition operations overnight and into the day in Haddatha (Bint Jbeil district), Mansouri and Khiam (Marjayoun district). In Mansouri, an Israeli bomb caused a fire in the targeted area. In Khiam, a Merkava tank fired four shells. Later, Israeli artillery struck a house near the western edge of Mais al-Jabal, also in Marjayoun, followed by heavy machine-gun fire that sparked a fire in the area.
Israeli warplanes also targeted a house belonging to the Hage Ali family, in the al-Deir neighborhood of Nabatieh Fawqa, overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, destroying it. The Israeli army also fired several shells on Majdal Zoun and the surrounding valleys, as well as artillery rounds on the outskirts of the Zibqine valley in the Sour district. Israeli forces also fired machine guns toward Haddatha.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is challenging Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s October legislative elections, said his government would strike Iran if Hezbollah attacked Israel. He made the remarks as part of a broader plan to overhaul Israel’s security policy, according to Israeli media, including Ynet and Haaretz.
