BEIRUT: Israeli forces conducted air strikes on five towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday following explicit evacuation warnings to residents.
Lebanese state media and the Israeli military both confirmed the coordinated attacks targeting border communities.
The National News Agency of Lebanon reported one injury in Mais al-Jabal from the strikes, which also hit Debbin, Burj Qalawiya, Al-Shahabiya and Kfar Tibnit.
Roads leading from these towns were congested with civilians fleeing after Israel’s evacuation directive.
An AFP correspondent near Debbin observed dark smoke rising from the impact sites after the bombardment.
These strikes represent a continuation of Israeli military operations despite a November truce that ended over a year of hostilities and two months of open warfare with Hezbollah.
Israel maintains troop presence in five strategic locations across southern Lebanon it considers vital for security.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun strongly condemned the attacks and criticised international silence from ceasefire guarantor nations.
He stated that this silence effectively encourages further Israeli aggression against Lebanese sovereignty.
The Israeli military stated it targeted several weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in southern Lebanon.
It pledged to continue operations to eliminate any threats to Israeli security.
Israeli forces had issued specific calls ordering residents of the five southern towns to evacuate immediately prior to the strikes.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had earlier called for maximum international pressure on Israel to halt attacks on his country.
Thursday’s strikes occurred one day after Hezbollah commemorated the anniversary of Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie bombings that killed dozens of members. Israel and Hezbollah had engaged in nearly a year of cross-border fighting before that attack, which significantly weakened the Iran-backed group.
Under US pressure, Beirut has instructed the Lebanese army to create a plan for disarming Hezbollah near the Israeli border by year’s end.
Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi stated last week that the army would fully disarm the Iran-backed group in border areas within three months.
The Lebanese army noted that Thursday’s strikes marked Israel’s 4,500th ceasefire violation and warned these attacks risk slowing Hezbollah’s disarmament.
It stated these assaults obstruct army deployment in southern Lebanon and could hinder implementation of its disarmament plan south of the Litani River.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah declared that renewed Israeli aggression would not force southern residents to surrender or abandon their land.
Hezbollah has rejected Beirut’s disarmament plan and is preparing to commemorate leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death following his killing in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September 2024. – AFP