This picture taken in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon shows lines of cars as people flee their villages in the south. AFP
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the raids targeted towns and villages across the Tyre and Nabatieh districts, with mass departures of residents reported in the towns of Nabatieh al-Faouqa and Ansar. A drone was also observed hovering over Beirut's southern suburbs, though its origin was not verified.
Beyond the airstrikes, Israeli occupation forces have deliberately ignited widespread fires across southern Lebanon using incendiary munitions, shells, and drones, devastating forests, agricultural fields, and orchards. Environmental groups warned that the deliberate scorching of farmland poses long-term threats to local biodiversity and rural livelihoods.
Hussein Faqih, head of Civil Defense in the Nabatieh region, said firefighting crews are repeatedly deployed under fire to extinguish blazes near the front lines, estimating that 30 to 40 percent of land in some border sectors has been impacted.
“According to testimonies from our firefighting teams, the occupation army began setting blazes immediately after the ceasefire using drones, incendiary munitions, and phosphorus shells, alongside flare bombs dropped during the day that ignite dry vegetation,” Faqih told The Guardian.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said Sunday that its forces killed Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, in a Saturday airstrike near Deir Al-Zahrani.
The rapid escalation comes as both nations prepare for a new round of US-mediated direct negotiations in Rome next month.
However, talks remain deadlocked. A source in the Lebanese presidency told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that during Thursday's seventh round of talks in Rome, Tel Aviv rejected Beirut's proposal to designate additional zones for military withdrawal, demanding instead that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) prove full operational control over two initial sectors.
The June 26 framework agreement, brokered by Washington, outlines Hezbollah's disarmament alongside a gradual Israeli retreat, with Lebanese army troops moving into designated sectors. Under the deal, Lebanese troops deployed to western Zoutar on July 21 after the Israeli army withdrew from its periphery, while reinforcing positions in Srifa and Frun. Lebanon has pushed to expand the troop withdrawal to new areas, but Israel insists on auditing security conditions in the first two zones before advancing to the next phase.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared last week that Israeli forces will maintain a security buffer in southern Lebanon extending from the Mediterranean coast to Mount Hermon. Katz vowed to continue infrastructure destruction and house demolitions, stating that forces have already razed thousands of homes and displaced roughly 200,000 residents.
Hezbollah said the Israeli attacks “will be met with an appropriate response,” urging Lebanese authorities to abandon “the humiliating path of direct negotiations”.
“Targeting civilians and expanding the areas targeted reflected a desire by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate the war to strengthen his domestic political position,” Hezbollah said.
Since the reignition of Israel’s war on Lebanon on 2 March, the occupation army has killed at least 4,300 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
While large-scale combat slowed following a broader regional memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the subsequent 19 June truce, Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and systematic land demolitions, with 355 people killed and 276 injured since the ceasefire announcement.
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