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09-05-2025
BEIRUT: Israel launched dozens of airstrikes in south Lebanon on Thursday, in one of its heaviest bombardments of the region since a ceasefire ended last year’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said it had hit a Hezbollah infrastructure site in the south. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, which has previously said that it withdrew all its forces from the south in line with the US-brokered truce.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and another eight wounded in the strikes. Thick columns of smoke rose from the hilltops hit in the attacks in the Nabatieh region, some 12 km (8 miles) from the border.
Israel, which inflicted huge damage on Hezbollah during last year’s war, has been carrying out airstrikes in south Lebanon on a regular basis since the ceasefire, and has also struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut several times.
The ceasefire terms require that neither Hezbollah nor any other armed group have weapons in areas near the border south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20 km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border. They require Israel to withdraw troops from the south and that the Lebanese army deploy into the border region.
Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of failing to fully implement the deal. Israel still has troops on five hilltop positions in the south. Rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israel twice, though Hezbollah denied any role.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has said the group has no more weapons in south Lebanon, in line with the ceasefire terms.
Lebanese authorities have detained Palestinian militants, including Hamas members, accused of firing rockets towards Israel from Lebanon on two occasions since the ceasefire.
Both attacks prompted Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters in the war, destroyed much of its arsenal and eliminated top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.
The war spiraled after Hezbollah opened fire at the beginning of the Gaza war, declaring solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.
The Israeli army said on Sunday it struck a southern Beirut building being used to store precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah.
The attack was a further test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group.
A huge plume of smoke billowed from the building, Reuters live footage showed; almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the Hadath neighborhood.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah’s precision missiles “posed a significant threat to the State of Israel”. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
The latest strike adds to strains on the US-brokered ceasefire that ended last year’s devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Today’s strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said on social media.
“We urge all sides to halt any actions that could further undermine the cessation of hostilities understanding and the implementation of SCR 1701,” she added, referring to the United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. (Int’l News Desk)
