At least one individual was killed in a series of extensive Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon yesterday, marking the most intense assault since the ceasefire agreement. Despite the ceasefire, which was supposed to take effect on November 27, Israel continues to carry out attacks targeting positions associated with Hezbollah.
Israel has been conducting airstrikes in various locations throughout Lebanon, particularly in the southern and eastern regions. Officials have asserted that they will not permit Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities following the recent conflict.
According to Lebanon’s national news agency, Israel launched “a large-scale aerial assault on the Nabatieh region” in southern Lebanon, executing “intense strikes in waves” that targeted “valleys, highlands, and forests between the towns of Kfar TubNait, Nabatieh al-Fouqa, and Kfar Rumman.”
A photographer from a news agency observed thick smoke rising from mountainous, forested areas, far from populated regions.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the airstrikes over Nabatieh resulted in at least one death and injuries to eight individuals.
Panic Among Residents
The airstrikes incited panic among the local population. Dr. Jamal Sabbagh, 29, who was conducting a health visit at a school in the village of Shoukin near Nabatieh, stated, “We heard a loud sound, approximately ten consecutive strikes. Some children were frightened, creating a scene of panic, and the teachers were scared too.” He noted that the strikes targeted “the mountains surrounding Nabatieh.”
The news agency reported tremendous explosions, the reverberations of which were felt in most areas of Nabatieh and the south, leading parents to rush to pick up their children from schools amid heavy traffic congestion. The agency also mentioned a woman and her daughter narrowly escaping as Israeli forces fired on their vehicle while traveling on the road near Kfar Kela in southern Lebanon.
Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were seen flying alongside warplanes over the western and central sectors of southern Lebanon at a moderate altitude.
In a separate announcement, the Israeli military confirmed that it targeted “an infrastructure site” in southern Lebanon “used by Hezbollah for managing its firing and defense systems.” They added that the airstrikes impacted “Hezbollah elements, as well as munitions and tunnel openings,” explaining that this “infrastructure is part of a larger underground project that has become unusable due to the Israeli military strikes.”
These airstrikes occurred the day after the death of Khaled Ahmad Ahmad, a leader of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon, who was killed in an Israeli strike that targeted his vehicle in the city of Sidon, southern Lebanon. The Israeli military confirmed the targeting and described Ahmad as having played a role in leading Hamas operations in the western sector of Lebanon, considering his activities a threat to Israel and its citizens.