Israeli artillery shelling on the Ali Taher ridge on Sept. 15, 2026. Photo sent by Muntasser Abdallah.
BEIRUT — U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited Zawtar Gharbieh (Nabatieh district) on Tuesday as Israeli attacks continued across south Lebanon. He was accompanied by a delegation from the Council for Development and Reconstruction, a few days after President Joseph Aoun visited the district.
After visiting the Church of Annunciation, Issa left Zawtar Gharbieh, heading to Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr bridge before again returning to the village square. Zawtar Gharbieh's mayor told our correspondent in the South that he had coordinated the schedule with the ambassador in advance, and was frustrated by the sudden change. The diplomat’s security team reportedly took measures to obscure the itinerary.
The road connecting Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr, north of the Litani River, to Froun, south of the river, reopened Monday, restoring normal traffic after Israeli strikes had destroyed the bridge, which connects the Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil districts in the South.
Aoun made a surprise visit to Zawtar Gharbieh on Saturday after visiting the city of Nabatieh, accompanied by the Lebanese Army command. The village is one of three “pilot zones” designated under the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, signed in late June under U.S. auspices. The zones are intended to facilitate the withdrawal of Israeli forces in parallel with the Lebanese Army’s disarmament of Hezbollah, according to the agreement.
On Sunday, Issa attended a commemoration at Sassine Square on the anniversary of former President Bachir Gemayel's assassination on Sept. 14, 1982. The ambassador had also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv earlier this month.
School destroyed in Kfar Tibnit, Araghchi and Berri hold call
Israeli artillery hit Zawtar Gharbieh, the Ali Taher ridge, Mansouri (Sour) and the outskirts of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya) on Tuesday morning. Overnight, Israeli forces continued systematic demolitions in Mansouri, where three explosions were reported. They also carried out demolitions on the outskirts of Braasheet and Kounin in the Bint Jbeil district.
On Monday, Israel destroyed the Martyr Mahmoud Fakih public school in Kfar Tibnit (Nabatieh), which the municipality called a “heinous crime.” The municipality called on the international community and “educational and humanitarian institutions around the world” to condemn Israeli attacks and assured residents that “education will not stop.” For several weeks, Israel has carried out daily demolitions in villages it occupies in south Lebanon.
On Monday evening, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, reaffirming “Iran’s commitment to preserving Lebanon’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Israeli aggression” and expressing “the full support of the Islamic Republic for Lebanon’s worthy resistance against the occupation and aggression of the Israeli regime,” according to the unofficial Iranian news agency Fars.
The two also discussed the need to “strengthen coordination among regional countries to counter the hegemonic ambitions and belligerent policies of the Israeli regime against Lebanon and other countries in the region.”
Berri thanked Iran for “its support for Lebanon” and briefed Araghchi on the “situation in the south of the country.” Regarding the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Berri highlighted “the legal and moral responsibility of the international community and Islamic countries to stop the occupying regime’s violations of international law, hold those responsible for the crimes accountable and sanction them.”
Negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv have stalled over Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s refusal to withdraw from south Lebanon and halt its attacks. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday between Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamade Moawad, and her Israeli counterpart, Yechiel Leiter, to discuss the framework agreement.
