Smoke billows amid Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit. AFP
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported a strike on Mais al-Jabal, a border town heavily damaged by previous Israeli attacks, where the health ministry said one person was injured.
Strikes also hit Debbin, Burj Qalawiya, Al-Shahabiya, and Kfar Tibnit, with roads out of the towns crowded with people fleeing ahead of the bombardment, NNA said. An AFP journalist near Debbin saw clouds of dark smoke rising after the strikes.
The Israeli military ordered residents in the five towns to evacuate “immediately,” despite a truce signed in November meant to end over a year of hostilities.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has relentlessly continued its strikes across southern Lebanon, including a ruthless two-month campaign targeting areas across Lebanon, mainly in the south, where Hezbollah enjoys support.
These indiscriminate attacks, which have spread to Beirut’s southern suburbs, have caused massive civilian casualties and widespread destruction.
Israel also occupies five locations in southern Lebanon it considers strategically important and has refused to withdraw.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the attacks and “the silence of the countries who had sponsored” the ceasefire, which he said “encourages further aggression.”
“The time has come to put an immediate end to these blatant violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty,” he said.
The Israeli military alleged it struck several weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in southern Lebanon. However, Tel Aviv has frequently made such claims as a pretext for targeting civilians in its operations.
It vowed to “continue to operate to eliminate any threat” to Israel.
Ahead of Thursday’s strikes, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called for “maximum pressure” on Israel to halt its attacks.
Army warns violations risk hindering disarmament
“These assaults and violations obstruct the army’s deployment in the south, and their continuation will hinder the implementation of its plan starting from the area south of the Litani River,” the army said in a statement.
Under US pressure, Beirut has ordered the army to prepare a plan to disarm Hezbollah in border areas by the end of the year. Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said last week the army would fully disarm the group near the border within three months.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the “renewed Israeli aggression on southern villages will not push our people to surrender or abandon their land.”
Hezbollah, which has rejected the Lebanese government’s disarmament plan, is preparing to mark the death anniversary of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in late September 2024.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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