Syria drone strike: Israel says it targeted ‘terrorist’ preparing attacks | LIVE

Syria drone strike: Israel says it targeted ‘terrorist’ preparing attacks

Syrian state television reported that one person was injured by an Israeli drone that targeted a vehicle on the road linking Mazra‘at Beit Jinn to the village of Beit Jinn, near the Golan Heights, which was annexed by Israel, around midday. The strike came three days after a warning from Israel.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army initially said it was “checking” the reports. Later, citing Haaretz, it said it had targeted a “terrorist” who was preparing attacks.

“The Israeli army struck a terrorist in southern Syria who was preparing terrorist attacks in their final stages of preparation,” the Israeli army said in a statement. The statement provided no further details about the target or the operation.

On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir told troops deployed in southern Syria: “We are monitoring developments on the Syrian front. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves on our borders.”

Trump says Iran is not ready to reach ‘the right deal’

U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that he believed Tehran was not ready to reach “the right deal” and that Washington was watching “what happens” in the war with Iran, Reuters reported.

Asked whether the U.S. military options regarding Iran were limited, Trump said, “It simply means that we’re watching what happens.”

US sanctions on Iran: Treasury secretary to hold news conference Monday

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hold a news conference Monday, according to a statement, after the United States threatened to impose new sanctions on Iran and took steps aimed at lowering yields on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, Reuters reported.

The news conference will be held at 2 p.m. (9 p.m. Lebanon time) at the Treasury Department. It comes after Bessent announced this week that he would provide details Monday on proposed sanctions against Iran.

Repair of South Pars Phase 14 refinery in Iran 70 percent complete, SHANA says

Repair work on the gas refinery at Phase 14 of South Pars in Iran, which was damaged in an Israeli attack in June, is 70 percent complete, the head of Pars Oil and Gas Company said, according to SHANA, the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news agency.

The refinery will be fully repaired by the end of the year, its director, Touraj Dehqani, said. The damaged section will also be fully reintegrated into the production cycle, he added.

Iran: New security and economic agreements with neighbors in the works, Ghalibaf says

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran had received a message from neighboring countries regarding the establishment of “new security arrangements and economic cooperation,” Reuters reported.

Israeli demolitions in three villages in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army demolished homes in Kfar Tebnit (Nabatieh), Mais al-Jabal and Tallousseh (Marjeyoun), according to our southern Lebanon correspondent.

Tom Barrack says Golan Heights is occupied Syrian territory

U.S. special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack said the occupied Golan Heights is Syrian territory under international law and United Nations resolutions.

In an interview with Clash Report, published Saturday on X and republished by Syria’s official SANA news agency, Barrack said Israel continues to occupy the Syrian Golan in defiance of U.N. resolutions and the international order, which recognizes the territory as belonging to Syria.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 497, adopted Dec. 17, 1981, declared Israel’s decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Golan Heights “null and void and without international legal effect.”

On April 29, 2025, Syrian Foreign Minister and Expatriates Assaad al-Chaibani said during a U.N. Security Council session that the Syrian Golan Heights remained under occupation. He called for the implementation of Resolution 497 and for Israel to withdraw to the June 4, 1967, line.

Southwestern Syria: Israeli drone targets car, injuring one

An Israeli drone targeted a car in Mazraat Beit Jin in southwestern Syria, according to an Al-Jazeera correspondent.

The attack injured one person, Haaretz and the Qatari outlet reported.

Iranian official calls on Qatar to transfer detained pilots to hospital on land, Tasnim reports

An Iranian military official called on Qatar to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital on land, saying they were being held on a vessel and were in “poor physical condition,” Reuters reported, citing the Tasnim news agency.

Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Missing Persons Search Committee of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable. He called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to send an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the repatriation to Iran of injured and sick detainees.

US sanctions on Hezbollah: Group denounces ‘logic of tutelage’

The United States on Thursday announced a new round of measures against Hezbollah, sanctioning financiers and redesignating the group under sanctions for its ties to the Quds Force, the external operations unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a statement published yesterday, Hezbollah strongly criticized the decision, saying it did not need a “certificate” to prove its “belonging to Lebanon.” It described the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision as “another episode in the continuous policies pursued by U.S. administrations to target the resistance … with the aim of protecting the security of the Israeli enemy, consolidating its occupation of southern Lebanon and paving the way for it to implement its expansionist plans and ambitions in the region.”

Hezbollah said Washington “continues to treat Lebanon according to a logic of tutelage” and “seeks to provoke unrest inside Lebanon and divert the confrontation with the Israeli enemy in another direction,” instead of forcing “this enemy to withdraw from southern Lebanon,” where, it said, the Israeli army occupies nearly 700 square kilometers.

Regarding its ties with Tehran, Hezbollah referred to its “close and fraternal relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a relationship the group said it was “proud” of.

Read Salah Hijazi’s article here.

U.S. sanctions on Iran: Tehran denounces “extraterritorial sovereignty”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said the imminent announcement by the United States of new economic sanctions against Iran constituted “an assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations.”

“Such secondary sanctions have no basis in international law,” he wrote in a post on X.

Strait of Hormuz: Iran allows several Iraqi oil tankers to pass

Iran has authorized several Iraqi oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, Reuters reported, citing Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

According to IRNA, obtaining special authorization for Iraqi tankers was among Baghdad’s main requests during Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s visit to Iraq. Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said Iran had facilitated the passage of vessels carrying Iraqi oil through the strait in recent days, and that Baghdad had discussed the issue of Iraqi oil exports via Hormuz with Iranian officials. The issue remains complex, he added, speaking at the Baghdad Dialogue political conference, according to Reuters.

Summary of Israeli attacks the previous day, according to our southern Lebanon correspondent

The Israeli warplanes carried out missile strikes on five locations in southern Lebanon.

Seven locations were subjected to heavy artillery fire.

The Israeli army carried out demolitions of homes and infrastructure in nine locations.

Homes were also set on fire in Beit Yahoun (Bint Jbeil).

Finally, several sound bombs were dropped on two locations, one of them toward a shepherd in Shebaa (Hasbaya).

Israeli bombardment targets several villages in southern Lebanon in evening

On Saturday evening, airstrikes targeted Nabatieh district, notably the hills of Ali Taher, the Al-Dabsheh area near Kfar Rummane, as well as an area between Zawtar al-Sharqiah and Meir Siriane, between Nabatieh and Marjayoun districts, according to our southern Lebanon correspondent in the region.

Drones also dropped sound bombs on Mansouri (Sour).

Light- and medium-caliber artillery fire targeted Wadi al-Salouki, between Bint Jbeil and Marjeyoun districts, Haddatha (Bint Jbeil) and Mansouri (Sour). Heavy fire also hit the outskirts of Wadi Houjeir and Khiam (Marjayoun), as well as Zawtar al-Sharqieh (Nabatieh).

An Israeli Merkava tank stationed in Haddatha fired several shells toward the outskirts of Tebnine (Bint Jbeil), while another fired shells at the Mansouri valley (Sour).

The Israeli army also carried out demolitions near Zawtar al-Sharqieh (Nabatieh) and Bouyout es-Siyad (Sour).

Overnight demolitions and artillery fire in southern Lebanon

Overnight, the Israeli army demolished homes in Mansouri (Sour) and near Bouyout al-Siyad in the same district, according to our southern Lebanon correspondent in the region.

Israeli artillery also fired five shells at Mayfadoun (Nabatieh) and four more at the hills of Ali Taher. Intermittent bombardment continued in the area until dawn.

Israeli artillery also fired heavily at Qantara (Marjayoun).

Strikes, artillery fire and demolitions in southern Lebanon in morning

After a tense night, the Israeli army continued its attacks in southern Lebanon, according to our southern Lebanon correspondent in the region.

In the morning, an Israeli drone dropped a bomb toward a shepherd on the outskirts of Srifa (Sour), slightly injuring him. Another drone bombed Srebbine (Bint Jbeil), injuring one person who was evacuated by emergency responders.

Heavy artillery fire also repeatedly targeted the Houchine area on the western outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun), as well as Houla in the same district.

The Israeli army also carried out a demolition between Arnoun and Kfar Tebnit (Nabatieh). The blast was heard as far as Saida.

Earlier in the morning, the Israeli army fired heavily with medium-caliber automatic weapons toward Zawtar al-Sharqieh, Haddatha and Bani Hayyan, as Israeli military vehicle movements were observed inside the latter village.

Two airstrikes targeted the outskirts of Dohat Kfar Remmane and the hills of Ali al-Taher (Nabatieh).

At dawn, the Israeli army demolished homes in Mansouri (Sour). The explosions were heard as far as the city of Sour, where columns of smoke were observed.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the situation in Lebanon, particularly southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army continues its attacks on villages and demolitions of homes.

We will also cover regional developments, particularly in Iran, the Gulf and Syria.