On Thursday, Israeli forces escalated their attacks on various areas of southern Lebanon, using warplanes and artillery alongside demolition and blast operations and low-altitude drone flights, as well as firing illumination flares and carrying out sweeping operations with light and medium machine guns.
Air raids hit towns in the Tyre district
The attacks included the towns of Mansouri and Zibqin in the Tyre district, and the areas of Hadatha, Baraashit, Beit Yahoun and Wadi al-Saluki in the Bint Jbeil district. They also extended to Bani Hayyan, Deir Siriane and Khiam, areas between Kfar Kila and Taybeh, and Tall al-Nahas in the Marjayoun district. In the Tyre district, the Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes raided Mansouri after it came under artillery fire during the morning.
Further artillery shelling targeted Wadi Zibqin as Israeli drones flew at low altitude over the city of Tyre and surrounding areas. In the Bint Jbeil district, Israeli warplanes carried out two raids on Wadi al-Saluki, while artillery fire hit the outskirts of Baraashit, Beit Yahoun and the valley itself.
Demolition and blast operations in Marjayoun
Earlier, artillery shelling at dawn targeted the outskirts of Hadatha and Baraashit, as part of attacks on the district since the morning. In the Marjayoun district, Israeli warplanes raided Bani Hayyan as the Israeli army carried out demolition and blast operations in several areas of the district.
The operations included a major blast near Deir Siriane and another demolition operation in Khiam, whose sound was heard across the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, as well as a blast between Kfar Kila and Taybeh. In the Tall al-Nahas area, Israeli forces fired illumination flares into the sky while carrying out a wide-ranging sweeping operation with light and medium machine guns.
Officer killed and three soldiers injured
The Lebanese National News Agency did not report any deaths or injuries resulting from the series of raids, shelling and demolition operations targeting those areas. Separately, the Israeli army announced on Thursday that an officer had been killed and three soldiers injured after their vehicle “overturned” in areas controlled by its forces in southern Lebanon.
The army said the dead man was Captain Eliav Haim Tzeflamos, 21, from the city of Haifa in northern Israel, who served in the 603rd Battalion of the 7th Brigade. An army statement said the officer was killed “when a military vehicle of the Humvee type overturned” in southern Lebanon, while three other soldiers were injured in the same incident and taken to hospital.
On 26 June, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a framework formula in Washington under US sponsorship, providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese army in areas from which Israeli forces withdraw.
Despite the agreement, attacks on the south continued, while Lebanese areas remained under the control of Israeli forces, some for decades and others seized during recent wars and military operations.
