The Italian contingent of the United Nations Interim Force is deployed in the village of Ain Ibl, in southern Lebanon, on June 6, 2026, to defuse unexploded ordnance. (Credit: Lucile Wassermann/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Today's top story
A man was killed Monday morning in a landmine explosion while inspecting his land on the outskirts of Ain Ibl, one of the few remaining populated villages at the heart of the Israeli-occupied zone in southern Lebanon. The victim, Edgard Jillo, was an officer with the Internal Security Forces and also worked as a farmer, according to Ayoub Khoreish, the president of the mostly Christian local council. The Israeli army also announced that it had "launched an interceptor at a suspicious aerial target spotted in the airspace" over south Lebanon, following a similar alert issued Sunday evening, without providing more details about the nature of the target spotted.
Why it matters
This is the third casualty in two days reported in southern Lebanon, where two other people were killed on Sunday in similar circumstances as they went to their fields during the olive harvest season. On Sunday, a retired soldier was killed by Israeli artillery fire in Yater, just hours after another man died from the explosion of an improvised device in Froun, both villages in the Bint Jbeil district located on the edge of the occupied zone, which stretches over more than 600 square kilometers. These deaths, along with recent alerts on Israel’s northern border and continuing artillery and drone strikes throughout the occupied zone, are occurring as tensions peak between Hezbollah, which is rebuilding its forces, and Israel, just weeks ahead of the legislative elections. These tensions, also exacerbated by the possibility of renewed conflict between Iran and the United States, have raised fears of fighting resuming in Lebanon.
What to watch
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam commented on the Dahr al-Baidar incident, in which two Hezbollah members were arrested on Oct. 5 by security forces while driving a truck loaded with hundreds of kilograms of explosives. On Monday, Salam said that there would be "no leniency or laxity" in handling the case. "I understand the concern among the Lebanese following the news of this interception and the nature of the transported materials, especially since C-4 was used in several infamous political assassinations in Lebanon's modern history," Salam said on X.
This was the first official reaction from one of the two heads of the executive since the start of a case that has sharply reignited debate about hezbollah's arsenal, which Lebanon has committed to disarming while conducting direct negotiations with Israel. The case has also revived fears of attacks and other political assassination plots that shook the country in the past, especially between 2004 and 2008.
Elsewhere in the news
- Five Palestinians were killed in two Israeli airstrikes carried out Sunday evening and Monday morning in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical sources cited by Reuters and Al Jazeera. On Monday morning, an Israeli drone attack killed two people and seriously injured three near Rafah, just hours after another strike killed three people in a tent in the al-Mawassi displaced persons camp near Khan Younis. The Israeli army said it targeted fighters in the area, without giving further specifics.
- The latest attack on King Khalid airport in Riyadh on Sunday killed a Pakistani national and injured 11 others, according to Saudi authorities, who announced Monday that airport operations would remain suspended, without specifying when traffic would resume.
- New Saudi airstrikes were also reported in Houthi-held areas in Yemen by local media. In Sanaa, airstrikes attributed to Saudi Arabia by Houthi media targeted several sectors of the capital overnight Sunday into Monday. According to the Associated Press, citing the Houthi-controlled health ministry, one person was killed and 12 others were wounded. In Taiz, in southwestern Yemen, Yemeni government forces announced Monday that they had shelled several Houthi positions.
Editor’s picks
