• Israeli forces launch air strikes on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, despite signing a US-brokered agreement with Lebanon last month to end hostilities.
   

Israeli strikes, artillery shelling and demolitions continue in south Lebanon

This [latest Israeli] air strike targeted an area called Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

It’s the hilltops and the suburbs surrounding the city of Nabatieh, which has been the focus of intensive Israeli military activity, particularly before this latest ceasefire.

The Israeli military said that it was targeting Hezbollah fighters in this strike. There is no confirmation of that, or how many casualties there might have been. And part of that is because Lebanon’s civil defense are not able to access the location due to the continued threat of Israeli air strikes.

That’s not the only military activity in southern Lebanon today.

There was artillery shelling, including on the village of Baraachit, where there was a mass civilian funeral earlier on Sunday. That was for people who have been killed over the last couple of months, but whose families had not been able to bury them in their home village because it wasn’t safe. And when the families tried to do so today, there was artillery shelling on the outskirts of that town.

There were also detonations in a couple of other locations.

Israeli continuous attacks provoke Hezbollah

Israel’s military activity in Lebanon is continuing, despite the fact that there is a ceasefire in effect.

In fact, there are two ceasefires supposedly in effect: one guaranteed by the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel, as a result of the direct negotiations mediated by Washington, and, of course, the other by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the US and Iran. A ceasefire in Lebanon is the very first term of that MoU.

Now, the chief of staff of the Israeli military [Eyal Zamir] was inside southern Lebanon earlier on Sunday, visiting the Beaufort Castle area. And he said this activity is within what they understand to be the terms of the framework agreement.

So it’s kind of a questionable ceasefire.

But the actual question is not whether the Israeli military activity will continue, because that seems quite certain, but whether Hezbollah will respond. Till this point, their activity has been fairly restrained. There’ve been a couple of cases of individual fighters who’ve come out of homes and tried to stage attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, but there’s been nothing significant on an organizational level.

So the question is whether this Israeli military activity will escalate and whether we will eventually see a Hezbollah response.

Lebanese families from occupied village cling to hope of returning home

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced by Israel’s military offensive in southern Lebanon are returning home, but residents of villages still under Israeli occupation remain unable to do so.

About 260 people from 74 families in Majdal Zoun have been sheltering together in an empty school in Tyre for months, watching their village from the waterfront as Israeli forces remain in control.

With the school now reclaiming its building, the community faces a further dispersal.

Village mayor says social media is helping to keep families connected as they relocate separately, uncertain when or whether they can return.

Israeli forces ‘trigger explosion’ in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s National News Agency says Israeli forces have “triggered an explosion” overnight in the town of Hula, in the Marjayoun district.

Ghalibaf says peace in Lebanon cannot happen without Tehran

Ghalibaf says peace in Lebanon cannot hold unless Iran plays what he describes as its stabilizing role in the region.

Iran’s top negotiator made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with Muhammad Fneish, a senior Hezbollah official who traveled to Iran to attend Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.

He said Tehran had made Lebanon a central issue in negotiations that led to the signing of the Iran-US MoU, according to Iranian media.

Here are some of his other comments:

• “We had a special emphasis on Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
• He also praised Hezbollah’s fight against Israel in support of Iran during the US-Israeli war, describing it as a “turning point in history” that showed the “unbreakable bond” between Iran and the groups in the “axis of resistance”

Paragraph 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding

The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operations against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.

Lebanese Christians denounce Israeli ‘disinformation campaign’

Lebanese Christians have rejected Israeli claims that residents of Christian border villages in southern Lebanon have asked to join Israel or obtain Israeli citizenship.

Maroun el-Khouli, head of Lebanon’s General Confederation of Labour Unions, said Netanyahu’s remarks are “false” and are aimed at stirring up tensions between Christians and Shia Muslims in Lebanon.

He described the comments as part of a psychological and media campaign targeting Lebanon’s social fabric, saying Israel is trying to weaken the country’s internal unity after failing to achieve its military objectives.

Shadi Massaad, former head of Lebanon’s Central Fund for the Displaced, said Israeli claims don’t represent the residents of Christian border towns, including Rmeish, Ain Ebel, Debel, Alma ash-Shaab, and others.

“Lebanon will remain our only homeland, and the Lebanese state will remain our legitimate authority,” Massaad said. Christian villages won’t allow their names to be used in political narratives “that have nothing to do with the truth”, he added.

".. Israeli claims that residents of Christian border villages in southern Lebanon have asked to join Israel or obtain Israeli citizenship."

Yesterday, Netanyahu had claimed that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon had asked to be annexed by Israel in order to be protected from Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks keep Lebanese villagers from returning home

There has been a reduction in Israeli attacks since mid-June, but they have not stopped. Since then, local media have been reporting Israeli air strikes, drone attacks, artillery shelling and home demolitions.

Most attacks have taken place in “front-line” villages that lie along the occupation zone. Israel controls at least 6 percent of Lebanese territory.

In recent weeks, Israeli drones were dropping stun grenades. This appears to be part of a strategy to keep people away. They don’t want people to return to these villages. They want to control these villages by fire because the more land you have, the more leverage you have in negotiations.

The agreement signed in Washington, DC, between the Lebanese and Israeli governments in late June has yet to be implemented.

On Sunday, the Israeli army chief visited Lebanese villages and said the war against Hezbollah will continue, but the Lebanese army needs to fulfill its commitments under that agreement.

The Israelis are seeking for more leverage in "negotiations" by seizing more territories in Lebanon.

Under international humanitarian law (IHL), seizing or annexing territory through military force is strictly prohibited. Forcibly displacing civilians or preventing displaced populations from returning to their homes to secure territorial or geopolitical leverage constitutes unlawful transfer, a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Core violations:

Unlawful Transfer and Forced Displacement: The Fourth Geneva Convention and customary IHL prohibit the forced displacement of protected persons in occupied or conflict-affected territories. Preventing civilians from returning home—regardless of motive, including creating "buffer zones" or territorial leverage—is widely categorized as a war crime.

Acquisition of Territory: The UN Charter and the laws of armed conflict strictly outlaw the acquisition of territory by force. Utilizing military means to alter borders, claim territory, or seize land for strategic leverage is internationally recognized as illegal.

Lebanese return to rubble after Israeli strikes

According to recently released statistics by the UN and Lebanese government, 40 percent of the more than one million people displaced by this conflict that began four months ago have returned to their homes.

But it’s not back to normal life for many whose homes were damaged or destroyed during Israeli army attacks. Some people have even put up tents close to their houses, and in some villages, it is just uninhabitable.

There is so much destruction. The electricity network has been hit, there are no water services, no telecommunications.

Local officials in these villages are saying: “We don’t have enough money to repair and support these people to return to their homes.”

But this is 40 percent – 60 percent of residents cannot return as many are from the Israeli occupation zone. That’s hundreds of thousands of people.

In Bint Jbeil, the Israeli army released a video on Sunday showing the demolition of an entire neighborhood. That’s what they’ve been doing. Government statistics show up to 90,000 housing units have been destroyed or damaged.

Israeli drone attacks southern Lebanon despite ‘ceasefire’

An Israeli drone has attacked the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon.

The strike is one of several Israeli attacks reported across Lebanon despite a ceasefire Israel reached with Lebanon’s government last month.

Israeli army claims ‘operational control’ of south Lebanon village

The Israeli military says troops took “full operational control” of the village of Haddatha in southern Lebanon, describing it as part of the “security zone”.

According to Israeli news outlet Arutz Sheva, the army said Haddatha is a major centre of Hezbollah activity, and it destroyed more than 90 “infrastructure sites and firing positions” there.

More than 20 Hezbollah fighters were killed during the assault, it said.

The announcement comes despite a US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Israeli missile attack kills 4 in southern Lebanon

Four people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.

The victims included the principal of Youssef Shamoun Public School, her mother, a foreign domestic worker and a Syrian citizen.

They were checking on the family home when their vehicle was hit by a missile near Dar al-Muallimeen, it said.

Rescue teams from the Lebanese Red Cross and civil defence agency transferred the bodies to hospitals in Nabatieh city.

Lebanese president says ‘Israeli occupation’ preventing implementation of Washington agreement

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said that continued “Israeli occupation prevents the deployment of the army and is not in the interest of achieving our goals and those of Washington.”

Aoun made the comments as Israeli strikes continued in southern Lebanon, killing at least four people, including a married couple.

“There is no place for civil war in Lebanon despite some attempts to incite strife,” added Aoun.

Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises to 4,319

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the death toll from Israeli attacks during the latest military escalation on the country has risen to 4,319 with more than 12,203 people wounded.

The figures, reported by Lebanon’s official National News Agency, cover the period from March 2 to today.

Lebanon deal remains stalled as Israel continues attacking villages

The “ceasefire” between Israel and Lebanon has yet to be implemented here on the ground. It calls on the Lebanese army to take control of areas where the Israeli army withdraws and clear them of Hezbollah’s presence.

The Israeli military has yet to withdraw from villages, the Lebanese army has yet to deploy and Hezbollah has yet to commit to the agreement.

Hezbollah has rejected this agreement altogether, and it believes the Lebanese government is giving the Israeli military something it wasn’t able to achieve during the war – and that is for the Lebanese army basically to do its bidding and disarm the group.

In this latest strike on the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, four people were killed. They were either inspecting their home or planning to return to their home and were killed in an Israeli drone strike.

The message is clear: people cannot return to these villages, not just those in the occupied areas, but these frontline villages as well.

Israel bombs homes in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces have bombed homes in the town of Qounine, in Lebanon’s southern Bint Jbeil district, the country’s National News Agency reports.

Its correspondent said the Israeli army attacked civilian homes in the town. This has been an Israeli tactic to stop people from returning.

More than 1.6 million were displaced after Israel began its aerial assault and ground invasion of southern Lebanon on March 2. Hundreds of thousands have attempted to return to the area.

Air raid targets southern Lebanese village after funeral

Israeli forces have carried out an air strike on the town of Baraachit in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, the National News Agency reports.

The attack came following a mass funeral for civilians in the same town on Sunday that became the target of Israeli artillery fire.

No casualties were reported in the strike.