A thick cloud of smoke rises following a demolition operation carried out by the Israeli army in the village of Aita al-Jabal, in the Bint Jbeil district. Photo provided by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
The Israeli army continued its attacks in southern Lebanon overnight Friday and throughout Saturday, carrying out demolition operations across the vast area it controls, as well as strikes on its outskirts. Mansouri (Sour district), Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Wadi Houjeir near Froun and Nabatieh al-Fawqa (Nabatieh district) were hit repeatedly. After drone strikes hit the latter village at dawn, three powerful strikes again hit the area late Saturday afternoon, this time around Ali Taher.
Nabatieh al-Fawqa borders the Ali Taher hills, against which Israel is reportedly preparing an offensive while awaiting a green light from the United States, according to our southern Lebanon correspondent.
The villages of Froun, which is not occupied, and Zawtar al-Gharbieh were among three “pilot zones” announced by Washington in late July as part of a plan intended to simultaneously disarm Hezbollah and secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The initiative has since stalled.
After an initial withdrawal, the Israeli army carried out several more incursions into Zawtar al-Gharbieh. A drone strike also hit the roof of a building in the city of Nabatieh.
In a more explicit act of defiance, as negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv stall, an Israeli force conducted a dawn incursion Saturday into the eastern district of Kfar Shuba, a predominantly Sunni border village that has remained inhabited in recent months despite the occupation. The force raised the Israeli flag on the roof of a house, our correspondent reported. At the same time, Israeli machine-gun fire swept the area around homes in the district.
Demolitions in Aita al-Jabal, houses set on fire in Beit Yahoun
Meanwhile, a demolition operation carried out in Markaba, a border village in the Marjeyoun district, destroyed several houses in the area. Earlier Saturday, the Israeli army had carried out two demolition operations near Haddatha and Aita al-Jabal in the Bint Jbeil district.
In the same area, the Israeli army set fire to houses in Beit Yahoun Saturday morning, with thick black smoke rising from residential areas. Artillery fire also targeted the outskirts of Haris, near homes, as well as Haddatha. Israeli artillery had already fired several illumination shells at the area between Haris and Haddatha late Friday evening.
Artillery fire hit Mansouri on the coast late Saturday afternoon. Elsewhere, two artillery shells targeted the heights of Hebbarieh in the Hasbaya district Saturday. In the eastern border sector, gunfire from the Israeli side of the border targeted a shepherd near Shebaa, causing no casualties. Other artillery fire was reported in Houla, while a fire broke out in Kfar Shuba following Israeli machine-gun fire and the launching of grenades. Artillery fire also targeted Wadi Slouki.
According to a tally of Friday’s attacks reported by our correspondent, the Israeli air force carried out a series of strikes on homes and buildings in six localities in southern Lebanon, destroying residences and businesses. Drones targeted sites in one locality, while eight others came under heavy artillery fire.
The Israeli army also carried out numerous demolition operations in at least 10 localities in southern Lebanon, targeting homes, buildings and infrastructure. Israeli troop movements and earthmoving operations were also reported in seven localities, while homes were set ablaze in another.
According to some observers, the United States is allowing Israel to continue its military operations in the more than 600-square-kilometer area it controls in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah agrees to disarm.
Hezbollah has remained firm in its refusal to consider disarmament north of the Litani River before attacks stop and Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon. It also continues to count on developments on the Iranian-American front and their potential repercussions in Lebanon.
