Israel carries out hours-long strikes on strategic Ali Taher hill overnight | LIVE

South Lebanon: Airstrike hits Braasheet in Bint Jbeil district; demolition carried out in Majdal Zoun

Israeli bombardment in Brasheet (Bint Jbeil). (Credit: Photo shared by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah)

The Israeli air force struck Braasheet this morning, a village in the Bint Jbeil district bordering the “buffer zone” established by Israel in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah. A house was targeted in the village, which is near Haddatha, where Israeli forces have carried out numerous operations in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, artillery fire targeted, in turn from 8:30 a.m., the Wadi Slouqi and Wadi al-Jamal valleys between Mais al-Jabal and Houla in the Marjayoun district, the outskirts of Mayfadoun in Nabatieh, Wadi al-Jamal, and Shebaa in the Hasbaya district.

Another demolition was carried out in Majdel Zoun, in the Tyre district. The explosion shook homes in neighboring areas, according to residents.

Ghalibaf: Iran must prepare to overcome 'unjust US sanctions'

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to remarks reported by Reuters, that Iran must prepare to overcome the “unjust sanctions” imposed by the United States.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had announced that Washington would impose what he described as the toughest sanctions ever imposed on Iran.

Aoun continues his visit to Rome

Currently visiting Rome, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is due to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss the future of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate expires at the end of 2026, as well as Italy’s already expressed commitment to maintaining an international force in southern Lebanon after the peacekeepers’ mandate ends.

During his visit to the Italian capital, Aoun met Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, while the Vatican expressed “serious concerns” over the difficulties in implementing the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel. The agreement, signed in Washington on June 26, is intended to establish “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese Army would disarm Hezbollah. The continuation of the “pilot zones” project has, however, been suspended due to a lack of progress during the latest round of direct talks between the two countries in Rome in early August.

Washington threatens countries that refuse to join its economic war against Iran

The United States on Thursday evening urged its allies and China to join a sweeping economic pressure campaign against Iran, intended to “bring down the regime” in Tehran without resuming military operations. Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Washington of “economic terrorism,” according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.

“Any country that maintains a connection with Tehran will send its own economy into oblivion, whether that connection is maintained willingly or deliberately ignored,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on X. Without providing any details about the measures under consideration, he had already warned shortly beforehand that countries that do not support the campaign would be considered “against us,” in an interview with CNBC. He is due to hold a press conference Monday on how the United States plans to further increase pressure.

“We are sort of in a new phase where the most effective tool we have is the economic pressure we can impose on them,” Vice President JD Vance said in a conservative podcast. “It will be a delicate dance” because Iran “will try to put economic pressure on us,” he warned.

Massaad Boulos: We are determined to dismantle Hezbollah’s financing networks

Iran “uses Hezbollah to sow chaos in the Middle East, undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and threaten our regional allies,” Massaad Boulos, adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said on his X account.

Boulos, who is of Lebanese origin, added: “The measures currently being taken by the U.S. Treasury, which include redesignating Hezbollah as a sanctioned entity and imposing sanctions on 10 individuals who transferred funds between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, confirm our determination to dismantle these terrorist financing networks.”

The U.S. Treasury announced Thursday evening that it was redesignating Hezbollah under its sanctions regime over its activities in support of the Revolutionary Guards.

Ali Taher hill bombarded for more than 5 hours straight overnight

The night was particularly tense in southern Lebanon, notably in the Nabatieh area around the strategic Ali Taher hill and in Mansouri, Sour, according to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.

Israeli artillery fire began after 11 p.m. on the Ali Taher hill and continued until dawn, around 5 a.m. Israeli drones flew over the area throughout the night. The attacks on the site, where Israel alleges Hezbollah has strategic military installations, were particularly intense, according to witnesses.

Other localities in the Nabatieh area were targeted by Israeli strikes overnight, including Dohat Kfar Roummane at around 11 p.m. and again around 3 a.m. The village, on the outskirts of Ali Taher, has been repeatedly targeted in recent days.

Mansouri, Sour, was targeted several times overnight, as it has been for several days. The Israeli army caused powerful explosions there shortly after 10 p.m. A drone dropped a sound bomb shortly after 11 p.m., alongside artillery fire. Airstrikes were also carried out around 3 a.m. At 8 a.m., Wadi Slouqi in Marjayoun was targeted by Israeli artillery.

Haddatha, in the Bint Jbeil district, was targeted by artillery fire shortly after 11 p.m. In the Marjayoun district, Kantara was also hit around 3 a.m.

Read Mounir Rabih’s latest analysis here.