Israeli forces continuing to demolish homes in southern Lebanon as talks drag on

Lebanon and Israel are holding another round of US-brokered talks in Rome.

The Israeli army has so far designated three “pilot zones” or villages where the Lebanese army has taken control.

Lebanon is now pushing for a full Israeli withdrawal from all occupied areas, but Israeli officials say there will be no movement until Hezbollah disarms.

Israel claims to have destroyed underground tunnel in Lebanon

The Israeli military "says" it has destroyed a tunnel stretching tens of meters in the village of Sarbin in southern Lebanon.

The military claimed that the tunnel was used by Hezbollah to “advance and execute attacks” against soldiers. It also said that in recent days, troops operating in southern Lebanon located a weapons cache containing Hezbollah launchers and rockets.

Israeli troops also located dozens of weapons of various types, including Kalashnikov rifles, anti-tank missiles and other combat equipment, it added.

Lebanon-Israel talks will likely not lead to further Israeli withdrawals

The latest round of talks in Rome between Lebanese and Israeli military officers and diplomats is unlikely to lead to further Israeli withdrawals from southern Lebanon.

Israeli officials have made this clear time and time again, even before the delegates converged at the US embassy in the Italian capital. What they’re saying is that they will not leave the occupied areas until Hezbollah is disarmed. It’s not just that; they want a verification mechanism to be put in place – a clear implementation process.

According to this framework deal, the Israeli army is supposed to withdraw from a certain area – a ‘pilot zone’. Then the Lebanese army deploys, and is supposed to make sure that Hezbollah does not return, and that any military assets belonging to Hezbollah will be dismantled in that area. So Israel is demanding a verification mechanism.

They’ve still not agreed on who the third party may be – there are some reports that it could be the Italian government, so a lot of technical discussions need to be ironed out. What Lebanon wants is for these withdrawals to start. It wants Israel to leave the more than 60 villages and towns it occupies across southern Lebanon.

But of course Lebanon does not have much leverage – the balance of power is in Israel’s favor. Lebanon is relying on the support of the US government, but the US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, just 24 hours before those talks began, said that we cannot rush this process; we need to get things right from the first time, and there will be no subsequent withdrawals until a mechanism is put in place.

View from southern Lebanon as negotiators meet in Rome

There is still very much a front line. More than one drone is flying overhead, and roads are blocked in the town of Nabatieh Faouqa, where the Israeli army does not have a military presence, but it’s a no-go area – they control it by fire. Any car that travels into this area is usually targeted by a drone or a stun grenade. The situation is similar in other villages across southern Lebanon.

So this area is very much a front line. Less than a kilometer from this town is the Ali al-Taher Hill, a very strategic high ground where the Israeli army believes Hezbollah has underground military facilities. They believe that there’s a command center there, that there are weapon depots.

What the Israeli army wants is for the Lebanese army to enter the area, secure it, search it and dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure. If the Lebanese army doesn’t do that, the Israeli army has hinted that there could be a battle for control of the Ali al-Taher ridge. There are no residents in this area, so it feels very much like a war zone, and they need to resolve the issue of the Ali al-Taher hill.

Hezbollah has said that it agrees to pull back from areas south of the Litani River – the river being some sort of a military boundary – in line with previous ceasefire agreements. But it says it will not disarm north of the river – and that is the Nabatieh area, which includes the Ali al-Taher ridge. So if the Lebanese army tries to enter the area, there could be a conflict with Hezbollah.

So a lot of issues still need to be resolved… Despite this framework agreement, this conflict is far from over [and] people in Lebanon have little faith in the agreement.

Blast in southern Lebanon injures Israeli soldiers: Media reports

An explosive device has detonated in the occupied village of Majdel Zoun, injuring Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media reports.

Israeli media has shown footage of a helicopter landing at Rambam hospital following the incident.

A journalist in Nabatieh reported that Israel carried out air strikes in nearby Mansouri, a village partially occupied by Israel in southern Lebanon.

UN says more than 800,000 Lebanese displaced by war are returning home

People displaced by war in Lebanon have begun returning to their hometowns during a lull in Israel’s attacks, the United Nations says.

It reported the development as Lebanon and Israel carry out a new round of US-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting, which are scheduled to run until Thursday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said “821,077 people had begun the return to their areas of origin as of 30 July” but added that more than 360,000 remained displaced, about 26,000 of them in government shelters.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the US-Israel war on Iran in March by firing rockets at Israel in support of Iran.

Israel responded with heavy air attacks and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

Israeli army issues forced displacement warning to village in southern Lebanon

The military has warned the residents of the village of al-Mansouri to leave their homes and move at least 1km (0.6 miles) north of the village to open land.

Israeli military continues operations in southern Lebanon amid Rome talks

Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are meeting for the second day in Rome for a seventh round of ceasefire talks.

Beirut is eager to see Israel withdraw from the more than 60 villages and towns it currently occupies in southern Lebanon, but Israel is conditioning further withdrawals on Hezbollah’s disarmament.

• Two Israeli air raids were reported in the al-Mansouri Mashaa area, south of Tyre.
• Artillery shelling was reported in the Majdal Zoun village, also in southern Tyre.
• Israeli military drones flew over Tyre and surrounding villages, and hovered low over the southern suburbs of Beirut.
• Israeli forces conducted explosions in the town of Kfartebnit, in Nabatieh.
• The Israeli military fired flares over the hills of Dawhat Kfar Roumman in a reported attempt to start a fire.

Israel’s military says it has begun attacks in southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah violation

Israel’s military says it has started carrying out attacks in southern Lebanon in response to what it calls a “blatant violation of the ceasefire” by Hezbollah.

Israeli drone attack hits Lebanon’s Tibnin, says Lebanese state media

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) has reported an Israeli drone attack in the southern town of Tibnin, which it says sparked fires in the surrounding woodlands.

The attack was reported shortly after Israel’s military announced it was conducting attacks in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military issued a forced evacuation warning for the village of al- Mansouri shortly before that announcement.

Additionally, NNA reports that Israeli forces have deliberately set fire to woodlands on the outskirts of Lebanon’s Kfarshouba, and that people were injured in Tibnin due to an explosion caused by unexploded Israeli ordnance.

One person reported killed, 11 injured in Israeli air attack on Tibnin

An Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese town of Tibnin has hit the roof of a cemetery’s prayer hall, killing one person and injuring 11 people, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports.

Two Israeli soldiers killed in blast in southern Lebanon

At least two Israeli soldiers have been killed, another critically wounded and several others wounded after an improvised explosive device [IED] exploded inside a booby-trapped building in the village of Majdal Selm.

Escalation fears grow after deadly blast in southern Lebanon kills Israeli soldiers

At least two Israeli soldiers have been killed, another critically wounded and several others wounded after an IED exploded inside a booby-trapped building in the village of Majdal Selm.

The village lies close to al-Mansouri but remains under Israeli military occupation. There is no Hezbollah presence there, making this a notable incident. Following the explosion, the Israeli military evacuated its casualties and launched what it described as precision strikes across parts of southern Lebanon.

Although violence has eased in recent weeks, the situation here remains fragile. Israeli air strikes have continued intermittently, mainly targeting villages along the front line, even as Lebanese and Israeli diplomats and military officials hold negotiations aimed at implementing the ceasefire framework.

People I’ve spoken to say they remain deeply uncertain about the future. While many families have returned to damaged homes and are trying to rebuild after months of displacement, they fear the fighting could resume at any time.

Progress in negotiations has been limited, and many here doubt the ceasefire will hold. There is also concern that any broader regional escalation could quickly spill over into Lebanon, reigniting a conflict that many believe has never truly ended despite the reduction in fighting.

‘Relative calm’ shattered in southern Lebanon as attacks hit Tibnin, al-Mansouri, Kfar Tebnit

The Israeli army has said it is conducting what it calls “precision air strikes”. So far, we are getting reports of a strike in the towns of Tibnin, al-Mansouri – where the Israeli army had issued evacuation orders – and Kfar Tebnit. All these areas are just north of the zone Israel occupies. So, while this is an escalation, it appears to be contained, at least for the time being.

Israel says it is doing this in retaliation for what it calls “Hezbollah’s blatant violation of the ceasefire”. This is the second time in just a few days that the Israeli army has made such an accusation.

According to Israeli media, what happened was that Israeli soldiers were in a building in the town of Majdel Zoun when an IED exploded, killing two of them and injuring seven.

This is why the Israeli army is accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Based on  what is written about the Israeliclaim

Trump is ‘great friend’, but Israel will do ‘whatever it takes’ for security, says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will do “whatever it takes” to ensure its security – “with or without a deal”.

While Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump as “the greatest friend we have had in the White House”, he said “Israel’s existence is not negotiable”.

Netanyahu was speaking at a state service for the reburial of Shimon Leib and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of Theodore Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, according to Ynet.

Netanyahu’s comments come as Israel wages new attacks in southern Lebanon, even as negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials on a US-brokered “framework deal” continue in Rome.

Far-right Israeli settlers enter Lebanon illegally; most escorted back: Israeli media

A small group of Israeli women affiliated with a far-right settler movement illegally crossed into southern Lebanon today, according to The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli military.

The military has since located most of the group and escorted them back into Israeli territory, while efforts continue to locate remaining members, the report said.

The women are part of the Uri Tzafon Movement, a group that advocates establishing Israeli settlements in southern Lebanon, said The Times of Israel.

Several far-right Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have expressed support for Israeli settlements in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces fire artillery in Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun: Lebanese state media

Israeli forces have shelled southern Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun, reports Lebanon’s National News Agency, without noting any casualties.

Earlier, a booby trap detonating near an Israeli force in Majdal Zoun, causing casualties among Israeli soldiers. The Israelis painted their failure of being cautious when entering the building a ceasefire violation by Hezbollah.

Israeli military says mistakenly launched interceptor at its own fire

Israel’s military has released a statement saying it accidentally launched an interceptor missile after initially misidentifying its own military fire from operations in southern Lebanon.

It said no injuries have been reported from the incident, which is under review.

Turkish Foreign Minister warns Israeli expansionism could trigger global crisis

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Israel has “no intention or plan for peace” and is using diplomatic platforms to advance what he described as its “illegal strategies”.

Speaking to TRT Arabic after meetings in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Fidan said: “This is not something only we see; the whole world sees it. Israel has no intention or plan regarding peace. It merely uses every platform to advance its own position and illegal strategies.”

“If regional countries and the international community do not take the necessary diplomatic measures to curb Israel’s expansionist policies, this will produce not only a regional crisis but a global one,” he added.

Fidan made the remarks after attending a ministerial meeting on Jerusalem and separate talks involving Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the Gaza peace plan and wider regional tensions.

Israel again bombs southern Lebanon

An Israeli strike has hit the town of Burj Shemali in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, our correspondent on the ground reports.

Earlier today, Israeli strikes killed one person in the town of Tibnin, while two Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion inside a booby-trapped building in southern Lebanon.

The uptick in violence brings fears of escalation as the Lebanese and Israeli governments conduct direct talks in Rome.