Israeli army escalates attacks in southern Lebanon after Rome talks

The Israeli army escalated attacks across southern Lebanon on Thursday, a day after direct talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv in the Italian capital, Rome, to start Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Lebanon’s state news agency NNA said Israeli warplanes carried out two waves of airstrikes on the outskirts of the Al-Deir neighborhood in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

Explosions were heard across the Nabatieh region as thick plumes of smoke rose from the targeted area, the agency said.

Israeli artillery fire also targeted the town of Rashaf, while army forces set fire to several homes and tracts of land on the outskirts of Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district, NNA said.

Lebanese media also reported Israeli aircraft activity at medium altitude over the eastern district of Hermel, the northern Akkar region, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israeli strikes were also reported on the outskirts of Braashit and Beit Yahoun in Bint Jbeil.

On Wednesday evening, the US Embassy in Beirut announced that the Rome negotiations between Lebanon and Israel had produced an agreement on the "structure and guidelines" for implementing an Israeli withdrawal from two pilot zones in southern Lebanon, with implementation expected to begin in the coming days.

Lebanon and Israel signed a US-mediated framework agreement on June 26, which provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, beginning with a pilot model in two zones that have not been publicly identified.

The agreement does not set a timetable for the withdrawal, linking its completion to the Lebanese army assuming full security responsibility in the evacuated areas and the disarmament of armed groups, in reference to Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 4,324 people, injured 12,223, and displaced more than 1 million since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023-24 war.