BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

The Lebanese army mobilized its forces Sunday in the border town of Meiss El-Jabal in southern Lebanon, following Israeli military movements near the border, local media said.

According to the Lebanese state news agency NNA, Israeli army forces were placed on alert inside the occupied territories next to Kroum al-Marah neighborhood, east of Meiss El-Jabal, prompting the Lebanese army to mobilize and deploy vehicles and troops in the area.

The development comes days after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday ordered the army to confront any Israeli military incursions into liberated Lebanese territories in the south.

His order followed an Israeli raid that left a municipal employee dead inside the Blida municipality building in southern Lebanon.

Tensions have been mounting in southern Lebanon for weeks, with the Israeli army intensifying near-daily air raids inside Lebanese territory despite the ceasefire that has been in place since November 2024.

On Friday, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that Tel Aviv is considering escalating its military operations in Lebanon, citing the need to counter Hezbollah’s efforts to boost its capabilities.

The Israeli army has killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and turned into a full-scale offensive in September 2024.

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