South Lebanon: Latest developments
Israeli strikes targeted Thursday Nabatieh al-Fawqa, al-Mansouri and the region between Zebqine and Shihine.
Overnight into Thursday, artillery shelled Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, Wadi al-Hujair, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Wadi Slouqi, and Israeli forces detonated houses and infrastructure in al-Mansouri, Mays al-Jabal, Bani Hayyan, and al-Khiam.
An Israeli strike killed one person in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as intensified attacks prompted a sharp condemnation from the Lebanese army.
Since announcing last week the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge, a strategic Hezbollah position in Nabatieh, the Israeli army has stepped up its strikes in the area.
The attacks have killed at least 29 people since Friday, including 12 members of the same family, according to Lebanese authorities and official media.
Lebanon's army meanwhile said Israel's escalation threatened the framework deal between the countries and the military's efforts to implement it.
The army said in a statement that continued Israeli attacks in recent days "threaten existing understandings and arrangements, and hinder the army's efforts to establish stability" in the region.
Fighting in Lebanon had calmed since a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon were reached in June.
But Beirut still reports recurring Israeli strikes, which it says have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a so-called "security zone" in the south.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed concern about the Israeli "escalation" in southern Lebanon, according to his spokesperson.
In an online petition posted this week, nearly 400 Lebanese public figures, including legal experts and human rights advocates, called for Lebanon's army to be deployed in Nabatieh.
They also voiced concern over a possible "expansion of the Israeli occupation" toward the city, which is about 11 kilometers from the Israeli border.
"This city does not belong to any political group," added the signatories, referring to Hezbollah, which is well established in Nabatieh.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Lebanese army said its units were "deployed in all areas that Israel does not occupy, particularly in the Nabatieh region".
Source: Naharnet
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