Israeli army launches fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon

ISTANBUL

Israeli warplanes staged a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday, in the latest violation of last year’s ceasefire agreement.

A military statement said the strikes targeted what the army claimed were Hezbollah military targets in southern Lebanon.

The attacks came shortly after the Israeli army ordered residents of the towns of Meiss al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit, and Debbin in Nabatieh to evacuate their homes.

Lebanon’s state news agency NNA confirmed that five airstrikes hit Meiss al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit, Debbin,Borj Qalaouiye and Chehabiyeh without giving details about casualties.

The strike on the town of Borj Qalaouiye hit an empty house, while the raid on Chehabiyeh was accompanied by heavy Israeli drone overflights.

It added that an airstrike on Kfar Tibnit destroyed a building and caused major damage to nearby homes.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the southern town of Meiss al-Jabal wounded a Syrian national.

The agency said traffic congestion was reported on the Kfar Tibnit–Nabatieh al-Fawqa road as residents of threatened neighborhoods in Kfar Tibnit fled toward the city of Nabatieh and nearby towns in the province.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it “struck several weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.”

The Lebanese army warned that continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement are obstructing its plan to deploy forces and enforce exclusive arms control south of the Litani River.

In a statement, the army said Israel has committed more than 4,500 land, sea and air violations since launching its offensive on Lebanon in 2024. These included repeated attacks on civilians in border villages, such as the use of incendiary bombs and the demolition of homes, according to the army.

The statement said the ongoing attacks “prevent the full deployment of army units south of the Litani and obstruct the implementation of its plan to control weapons in the area.”

Separately, the army said a specialized unit uncovered a disguised Israeli spy device during a survey operation in the Labbouneh area in the Tyre district and dismantled it immediately.

A ceasefire was reached in November 2024 following an exchange of cross-border attacks between the Hezbollah group and Israel since October 2023. The exchange escalated into a full-scale Israeli war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.

Under the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January, but it only partially pulled out troops and maintains a military presence at five border outposts.