Israeli Incursion and Targeting of Buildings in Villages in Southern Lebanon Amid Escalating Military Movements
In a new development on the southern Lebanese border, the Lebanese official news agency reported that an Israeli force infiltrated this morning "towards the Sultanah area at the southeastern edges of the town of Yaron in the Bent Jbeil district, and proceeded to blow up an uninhabited building in the area".
Israeli movements were not limited to this incursion, but extended to various airspaces. The same agency reported that an Israeli drone "dropped a sound bomb on the town of Blida in the Marjeyoun district today", noting that no injuries were recorded as a result of this targeting.
The agency also observed other Israeli drones "flying at low altitude over the city of Tyre and the villages and towns of the Tyre district today".
These incidents come in the wake of a previous military escalation, where a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Thursday resulted in one death and seven others injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
For its part, the Israeli army justified those previous airstrikes as targeting "infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and an association that it claimed the organization used as a 'cover' to rebuild its positions".
This renewed escalation comes despite a ceasefire that has been in effect for months, as Israel continues to carry out airstrikes that it claims target elements and military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah.
A ceasefire agreement has been in effect since November 27, reached under American and French sponsorship, stipulating "Hezbollah's withdrawal from the area south of the Litani River (about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel) and dismantling its military structure there, and limiting the carrying of arms in Lebanon to official agencies".
However, compliance with the agreement faces criticism, as reports indicate that Israel, "in addition to the airstrikes, has maintained its forces on five hills in southern Lebanon, contrary to what the agreement stipulated", adding an additional layer of complexity to efforts aimed at stabilizing calm in the region.
