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LBCI
5 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israel tests boundaries in Lebanon with new ground incursions and offenses
Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Laetithia Harb The Israeli military has acknowledged conducting a recent ground incursion into southern Lebanon, citing the need for "targeted operations" to destroy weapons and prevent Hezbollah from regrouping in the area. According to Israel's army, the operation focused on a site in the Jabal Blat region that allegedly housed weapons depots and Hezbollah firing posts, as well as hidden arms in the area of Labbouneh. These were the objectives Israeli forces claimed to have destroyed during the raid. However, both Jabal Blat and Labbouneh are among five Lebanese locations Israel has occupied ahead of the current ceasefire agreement took effect. The weapons seen in the published photos are the kind more commonly associated with family disputes in Lebanon. The Israeli army's deployment of two separate brigades to seize a Kalashnikov and a B7 in a territory it has already occupied for months is being seen less as a military achievement and more as a calculated show of force — a message that it can operate whenever and however, it chooses. This is not the first time Israel has violated Lebanese territory since the ceasefire. Previously, the Israeli army entered the town of Meiss El Jabal, where it dug trenches and set up barriers. In Houla, they demolished a home and posted a sign warning residents not to allow Hezbollah to use their properties. Through repeated incursions and violations, Israel is attempting to establish a new reality on the ground, testing the limits of its freedom to maneuver inside Lebanese territory — and Hezbollah's patience along with it.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Israel sends troops deeper into south Lebanon to destroy alleged Hezbollah sites
Israel 's military on Wednesday said its troops pressed further into south Lebanon to carry out ground operations to dismantle alleged Hezbollah infrastructure, before retreating. The Israel military already occupies five points of Lebanese territory along the border, but the latest operations took place outside of those areas. Soldiers from the 300th Brigade found an alleged Hezbollah compound containing weapons and firing positions on the Jabal Blat ridge, which were later destroyed, the Israeli military said. In another operation, members of the 9th Brigade found and confiscated a multi-barrel launcher, a heavy machinegun and dozens of explosive devices hidden in thicketed terrain in the Labbouneh area which they confiscated, it said. 'In the area, an underground structure used for storing weapons was located, and the infrastructure was dismantled in an engineering operation by the brigade's troops,' it added. It was unclear when the operations took place but the announcement was made on Wednesday. In addition to the continued presence of its troops in Lebanon, the Israeli military conducts near-daily air strikes on people and sites allegedly linked to Hezbollah in the south and other areas. It has also struck Beirut several times since the ceasefire agreement was sealed. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, on Wednesday denied that any of its members were hit in an Israeli strike on the city of Tripoli. Three people were killed and at least 10 wounded in the rare attack in northern Lebanon on Tuesday. Israel claimed it was aimed at a Hamas official. 'There was no targeting of any Hamas official in the assassination that took place in Tripoli,' a Hamas official based in Beirut said. 'The Israeli narrative is completely false regarding the targeting of any of our members,' he told The National. Hezbollah was severely weakened during a year-long war with Israel that ended with a ceasefire in November. Israel's military campaign destroyed much of the group's infrastructure and killed its top leaders and senior commanders. Under the terms of a ceasefire, Hezbollah must pull all military equipment and fighters out of southern Lebanon, and all non-state militant groups must be disarmed across the country. Lebanon is under pressure externally and internally to disarm these groups, including Hezbollah and Palestinian factions that have a presence in the country.
LBCI
5 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israeli army claims destroying Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon
The Israeli army claimed that its forces had destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure in multiple areas in southern Lebanon, in operations based on intelligence and surveillance. In a statement posted on X, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said, 'Based on intelligence information and the monitoring of combat equipment and 'terrorist' infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in several areas in southern Lebanon, our fighters set out to carry out special and focused operations aimed at destroying them and preventing Hezbollah's repositioning in the area.' He added, 'As part of one of the operations carried out in Jabal Blat, forces from the 300th Brigade succeeded in locating a complex of weapons depots and rocket launch sites belonging to Hezbollah, which were destroyed.' 'In another operation, forces discovered combat equipment that had been hidden in a rugged area near Labbouneh, including a multi-barrel rocket launcher, a heavy machine gun, and dozens of explosive devices,' he said. 'The forces seized and destroyed the military equipment and combat means found in that area.' Adraee also stated that 'an underground building used to store combat equipment was found in the area and was destroyed using engineering capabilities.' He concluded, 'The Israeli army continues its efforts to remove threats to the State of Israel and prevent Hezbollah's attempts to establish a presence in the area, in line with the understandings reached between Israel and Lebanon.' #عاجل 🔸قوات جيش الدفاع تدمر بنى تحتية ارهابية خاصة بحزب الله في جنوب لبنان 🔸بناء على معلومات استخبارية ورصد وسائل قتالية وبنى تحتية إرهابية لحزب الله في عدة مناطق في جنوب لبنان توجه المقاتلون لتنفيذ عمليات خاصة ومركزة بهدف تدميرها ومنع إعادة تموضع حزب الله في المنطقة. 🔸في… — افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) July 9, 2025
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Israel army says launched 'special, targeted operations' in south Lebanon
Israel's military said on Wednesday its troops entered southern Lebanon as part of targeted operations to dismantle infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. "Following intelligence information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon, the soldiers launched special, targeted operations to dismantle them and prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing itself in the area," an army statement said. The military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on whether this was the first time Israeli troops had operated on the ground in Lebanon since a November ceasefire. But the army shared a video captioned "footage from a targeted nighttime operation of the 9th Brigade in southern Lebanon", showing troops walking on the ground. AFP was unable to verify the footage, the time or location it was shot. The army statement said the 9th Brigade was in the Labbouneh area, just over the border. Troops from the 300th Brigade operated in the Jabal Blat area further west, also within sight of the frontier. Despite a November truce with Hezbollah, Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon, mainly saying it is targeting the group's sites and operatives but also occasionally members of their Palestinian ally Hamas. The November 27 ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war that left the group severely weakened. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country but has kept them in five places it deems strategic.
