South Lebanon witnessed one of its most intense nights due to heavy Israeli bombardment and clashes with Hezbollah in the Nabatieh area, despite the ceasefire entering into force on all fronts, including Lebanon, under the agreement between the United States and Iran.

On the ground, the area around Ali al Taher hill in the Nabatieh district saw fierce fighting throughout the night, as Israeli forces attempted to advance and take control of the hill under heavy air and artillery cover. These attempts were met with counterattacks by Hezbollah fighters.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli army force made up of an armored unit and an infantry unit during an infiltration attempt toward the northern side of Ali al Taher hill.

It added that the resistance lured the force into an ambush zone, then engaged it with various weapons, striking three Merkava tanks with guided missiles, destroying them and setting them on fire, and also firing intense barrages of rockets and artillery shells.

The group also said it ambushed a second Israeli force that tried to flank and infiltrate toward the northern side of Ali al Taher hill via a concealed route. It stated that another Israeli force attempted to advance to evacuate the dead and wounded under heavy smoke cover, while dozens of flares were fired over the area, and that the fighters struck it with a rocket salvo and mortar fire, causing confirmed hits.

Airstrike on the town of Habbouch in the Nabatieh (circulated photo).

Israeli massacres in villages of Nabatieh

Coinciding with the intense fighting on the Ali al Taher battlefield, the Israeli army carried out a series of massacres at dawn in the towns of Al Sharqiya, Harouf, and Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district. The airstrikes targeted homes inhabited by civilians, resulting in a number of people killed and injured, as well as others reported missing under the rubble.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health stated in a preliminary toll that 18 people were killed and 33 were injured in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

Israel escalated its aerial and artillery bombardment significantly and heavily across villages in the Nabatieh district, targeting the city of Nabatieh and the areas of Kfar Jouz, Kfar Reman, Zibdin, Nabatieh al Fawqa, Habbouch, Sajd, Jabal Rihane, Kfar Tebnit, Nabatieh al Fawqa, and the Rihan heights.

At dawn, Israeli aircraft carried out two waves of airstrikes on the Kfar Jouz area in Nabatieh, the University district in the city of Nabatieh, and the Al Baydar neighborhood in Harouf, where eight casualties were reported.

This was followed by a strike on the Al Ashmaaiyah area between Al Sharqiya and Ad Doueir, which destroyed a house and resulted in four casualties, alongside concentrated artillery shelling that hit the Sisters’ neighborhood in the city of Nabatieh.

In the town of Kfar Sir, another Israeli airstrike led to three additional casualties.

Airstrikes on Nabatieh villages (circulated photo).

In turn, the town of Al Qusaibah was targeted at around 4:00 am by an airstrike that coincided with artillery shelling on the outskirts of Kfar Sir and Al Qusaibah, followed by additional airstrikes on Kfar Dajjal and Kfar Tebnit.

An enemy drone also targeted a motorcycle near the municipality building in Ad Doueir at around 5:00 am, and one person was reported killed and another injured.

The town of Jibshit also came under a series of airstrikes by hostile drones, which coincided with artillery shelling of the town.

Airstrike on Ad Dweir (circulated photo).

Ongoing Israeli strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure 

In this context, the spokesperson for the Israeli army, Ella Waweya, announced that the army “attacked during the night militants and infrastructure belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah in several areas in southern Lebanon, and the strikes are still ongoing.”

She claimed that “these raids came in response to repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah.”