Bloody Escalation in South Lebanon

The Feast of the Assumption, on Saturday, August 15, was marked by a serious escalation in southern Lebanon, as Israeli warplanes carried out deadly raids on the towns of El-Ansar and Deir Zahrani in the Nabatiyeh district, killing a total of 11 people — including a senior Hezbollah military commander — and wounding around twenty others.

The Jewish state announced late in the day that these strikes were carried out in retaliation for an attack launched late Friday by the pro-Iranian militia against an Israeli unit in the Ali el-Taher area, in the Nabatiyeh region. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously. Following that operation, the Israeli air force launched intensive strikes at dawn on Saturday against the heights of Ali el-Taher, but the deadliest airstrike took place in El-Ansar, where seven people were killed.

In an official statement, the IDF announced late in the day that a "commander" of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, Ali Samir Hajj Hassan, had been killed in El-Ansar. The statement specified that the building targeted served as a command center for the pro-Iranian militia, from which the order had been given to launch the attack against soldiers on a mission on the hill of Ali el-Taher.

The statement indicated that several aides of the Hezbollah commander were killed, along with family members who were present in the command center. "The killed commander had placed his family members by his side as human shields," the IDF stated.

Later on Saturday, a strike was carried out against Deir Zahrani, killing four people and wounding several others. These airstrikes were strongly condemned by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

On Saturday evening, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the IDF had notified residents of northern Israel of its intention to "carry out attacks in southern Lebanon overnight Saturday, and that explosions would therefore be heard" in the area.

The Hormuz agreement taking shape once again

On the regional front, Iran's Foreign Ministry stressed on Saturday evening that an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman was expected to be announced shortly, aimed at delineating the maritime corridors that ships would be permitted to use along the Strait of Hormuz.

It is worth noting that Iran's Foreign Ministry had stated a few days ago that an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman would not necessarily guarantee free and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. An official source in Tehran reiterated on Saturday evening that "the United States would need to meet certain conditions in order to ensure security in the strait"!

It should also be noted that two vessels — one of them belonging to a UAE-based company — were targeted in Iranian attacks in that area over the past twenty-four hours.

Alongside this persistent tension in a region subject to attacks by the Revolutionary Guards, military operations and bombardments continued on Saturday in Yemen between the pro-Iranian Houthi militia and Yemeni government forces, particularly in the Ma'rib region.

Three Iranian aviators killed in Qatar in March

Finally, Iran announced on Saturday that three Iranian pilots have been held in Qatar since last March. An Iranian source claimed they "were taken prisoner when their aircraft were shot down in Qatari airspace as they attempted to carry out strikes against American bases."

Late on Saturday evening, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied holding any Iranian aviators, while noting that rescue units were searching for the remains of the airmen. On this matter, the Qatari source indicated that contacts had been made with the Iranian authorities in order to hand over the remains of one of the aviators, "but Iran did not follow up on our efforts," the Qatari Foreign Ministry stressed.