Deadly night in southern Lebanon

Lebanon awoke Monday to the aftermath of a deadly night in the south, where at least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes, including nine members of the same family, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The escalation continued throughout the day, with deadly targeted strikes and near-continuous raids, mainly around the city of Nabatiyeh. It is fueling fears that Israel could expand its military operations now that the strategic Ali el-Taher hill has fallen under the control of the Israeli army.

The bloodshed unfolded overnight Sunday into Monday in the village of Kfar Remmane, where an entire building was destroyed. Nine members of the same family, including two newborns, were killed. Two rescuers from the Islamic al-Rissala Scouts, affiliated with the Amal movement, were then killed in a targeted strike. On Monday, a 12th person was also killed in a strike on the al-Rihane road in Jezzine.

Eight people had already been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday. According to the Ministry of Health, a total of 27 people have been killed over the past three days, while 69 others have been wounded, including women and children.

Israel has remained relatively tight-lipped about its tactical intentions, even as its broader military strategy is well known: to destroy Hezbollah’s arsenal and military infrastructure and prevent the group from rebuilding its fighting capabilities, thereby protecting residents of Israeli border communities.

Israel is pursuing that goal methodically, encouraged by two factors: the pro-Iranian group’s outright refusal to lay down its arms, and the Lebanese authorities’ refusal to take action to disarm it and restore state authority throughout the country, for various reasons, preferring instead to wait for who knows what kind of settlement, diplomatic or otherwise.

According to several Lebanese and pan-Arab media outlets, contacts are currently underway to set the date and agenda for the eighth round of direct talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv, to be held in Rome. In the meantime, Lebanese continue to count their dead and watch helplessly as towns across South Lebanon are destroyed.

After the capture of the Ali el-Taher hill, they fear that Israeli forces could advance toward Nabatiyeh, which could then suffer the same fate as Bint Jbeil: total destruction. Faced with this threat, parliamentary and civil voices have once again called on the authorities to deploy the army in this part of the country, north of the Litani.

Most importantly, the Shiite collective in Nabatiyeh and Tyre, which issued a similar call several months ago, renewed its appeal on Monday, this time with particular insistence. Within the Shiite community, the ranks of those hostile to the illegal weapons that have brought ruin to South Lebanon appear to be growing.

Al-Hadath reported Monday that a clash took place in Arabsalim between Hezbollah fighters and Amal supporters, who tried to prevent the pro-Iranian militiamen from moving weapons from one house to another in the village. The incident came shortly before an Israeli raid, which was preceded by an evacuation warning.

“Peace or War?”

At the official level, condemnation of the Israeli destruction continues. Speaking to French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, whom he received at Baabda Palace, President Joseph Aoun condemned “the continued strikes and the killing of innocent people,” directly addressing the Israeli authorities. “Does Israel want peace or war? If it has chosen war, let it say so clearly,” he said, while reaffirming his commitment to direct negotiations, which Hezbollah once again denounced on Monday through one of its MPs, Ibrahim Moussaoui.

Moussaoui argued for “resistance” as the only way, in his view, to “end the Israeli occupation” – an occupation that, it bears repeating, is the direct result of his group’s criminal adventurism.

On Monday, the Israeli army justified its overnight strikes by citing Hezbollah’s actions, accusing the group of launching “booby-trapped drones” at its soldiers.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, for its part, also denounced “continued violations” of the ceasefire, citing “repeated drone attacks, weapons depots, terrorist infrastructure and command centers embedded in civilian areas.” “Hezbollah continues to try to rebuild its military capabilities in southern Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is seeking to strengthen the international presence in South Lebanon, as the mandate of UNIFIL, deployed in that part of the country, is due to expire at the end of the year. In Cairo, where he is attending a meeting of the Arab League alongside his Arab counterparts, Foreign Minister Joe Raggi stressed the need for a “strengthened UN mechanism” to ensure implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 – which calls for the disarmament of militias and the extension of state authority throughout the country – as well as the framework agreement with Israel.

A Yemeni Tour de Force

At the regional level, the focus on Monday is mainly on Yemen, where government forces have launched a large-scale offensive against the pro-Iranian Houthi militia in the north of the country. Their aim is to advance and retake areas seized by the group, easing pressure on the Western front, particularly in Taiz and Hodeidah, on the Red Sea, where the Houthis, under the impetus of their Iranian mentor, are seeking to advance toward Bab el-Mandeb, a strait as strategically vital to maritime trade as the Strait of Hormuz.

According to an al-Hadath’s correspondent, government forces have already taken control of the al-Labanat military base in al-Hazm, the provincial capital of Jawf. The Houthis, for their part, claimed to have shot down a Saudi surveillance drone over Jawf.

In Iran, it is worth noting the emergence of social protest movements in several provinces, where civil servants are demanding payment of their salaries, particularly in Isfahan, while Tehran boasts of increasing its production of military equipment, in anticipation of a possible resumption of war with the United States or Israel.