Israeli artillery shelling targets Ali Taher Ridge on Sept. 15, 2026. (Credit: Photo sent by Muntasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army has continued its demolitions in southern Lebanon on Monday night and Tuesday morning, with three explosions reported in Mansouri (Sour district) and one on the outskirts of Braasheet and Kounin (Bint Jbeil). Meanwhile, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited the village of Zawtar Gharbieh (Nabatieh district) on Tuesday morning.
According to our correspondent in the South, Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the Ghazaleh neighborhood in Mansouri, the Ali Taher ridge, Zawtar Sharqieh (Nabatieh) and the vicinity of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) on Tuesday.
Our correspondent, citing Zawtar Gharbieh mayor Abed Ezzeddine, reported that Issa's visit was taking place with the municipality’s knowledge and in coordination with it. At the time of reporting, the ambassador's field tour had not yet begun.
Zawtar Gharbieh is one of the three "pilot zones" designated as part of the first phase of the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement signed in late June.
On Monday night, Israeli artillery shelling targeted Mansouri (Sour district) several times, as well as Mazraat al-Hamra in Zawtar Sharqieh, the Ali Taher ridge (Nabatieh), and Wadi Slouqi (Marjayoun). Israeli vehicles were also spotted moving in Zawtar Sharqieh alongside sweeping operations, while four Israeli military vehicles were seen moving from Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) toward Wadi Slouqi. Israeli gun fire also targeted Houla (Marjayoun) and Mansouri.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army destroyed the building of the Martyr Mahmoud Fakih Public School in the village of Kfar Tibnit (Nabatieh). Following the demolition, the Kfar Tibnit municipality strongly condemned what it called the "heinous crime committed by the Israeli enemy in destroying the ... school."
The municipality called on the international community and educational and humanitarian institutions around the world to condemn these attacks, and pledged to the village's residents that "education will not stop."
For months, the Israeli army has been carrying out daily demolitions of southern Lebanese villages that remain under its occupation despite the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel in late June.
This agreement calls for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and the dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in "pilot zones" in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal. However, the process has been slow. The last round of negotiations took place in early August without significant progress, while the next round, initially scheduled for this month, has been postponed until October.
According to Israeli media, the fate of the Ali Taher hill could be at the center of the discussions during the next round of talks.
Despite the postponement and stalled negotiations, a meeting is scheduled later on Tuesday between the Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Moawad and Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter to discuss recent developments and the gradual implementation of the agreement.
Berri-Araghchi call
Meanwhile, amid the tense situation in Lebanon and the region, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday evening, stressing "Iran’s longstanding commitment to preserving Lebanon’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Israeli aggression," and reaffirming the "Islamic Republic’s full support for Lebanon’s dignified resistance against the occupation and aggression of the Israeli regime," according to the Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency.
The recent war in Lebanon started on March 2, after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel, two days after the start of the Iran-U.S. war. This was the group's first attack against Israel in 15 months, despite daily Israeli strikes in Lebanon during the cease-fire agreement that lasted from Nov. 2024 to March 2026.
Berri and Araghchi also discussed the need to "strengthen coordination among regional countries to confront the Israeli regime’s hegemonic ambitions and warmongering against Lebanon and other countries in the region."
The Lebanese Parliament speaker, in turn, thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for "its support for Lebanon" and briefed Araghchi of the situation in southern Lebanon. Referring to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Berri stressed the "international community’s and Islamic countries’ legal and moral responsibility to stop the occupying regime’s violations of international law and to hold those responsible for the crimes accountable and punish them."
Reporting contributed by our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.