ISTANBUL

Israeli warplanes launched wide-scale airstrikes on several areas in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement in place since November 2024, Lebanese media reported.

The state news agency NNA said Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of intense air raids on the Mahmoudiyeh and Damshqiyah areas.

Israeli warplanes also pounded the al-Breij area on the outskirts of Jbaa in the Iqlim al-Tuffah region with more than 10 airstrikes in less than an hour, the agency said.

Additional Israeli strikes targeted the Rayhan Heights in the Jezzine district, while another raid hit the Tabna area, where a missile reportedly failed to detonate, according to NNA.

The outlet also said Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes between Bsaliya and Sniya, both located in the Jezzine region.

The Israeli army claimed that the attacks targeted “shafts used for storing weapons in several military sites belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”

The army also issued an evacuation order for residents of a residential complex of about 10 buildings in the village of Kfar Hatta in the Sidon district before launching a strike on what it called Hezbollah infrastructure at the site.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

There has been no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

In recent weeks, Israeli media reported that the army has completed preparations for a potential large-scale attack against Hezbollah positions if the Lebanese government and army fail to dismantle the group’s weapons.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah ended more than a year of cross-border attacks amid the war in Gaza. More than 4,000 people were killed, and 17,000 others were injured.

Under the ceasefire, the Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon, but it only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.