Israel launches fresh strikes on south Lebanon after warnings

Israeli raids hit south Lebanon on Thursday as its military claimed it was striking Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, a day after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group, Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon and its troops still occupy five south Lebanese areas deemed strategic.

The visit from Sunday to Tuesday of Pope Leo XIV had provided Lebanon with a window of reprieve from Israeli air strikes, which had intensified in recent weeks, and the pontiff urged an end to hostilities during his visit.

But on Thursday, the Israeli army said it "began conducting strikes on Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon", after warning it would strike buildings in south Lebanon's Mahrouneh and Jbaa.

It subsequently issued warnings that it would strike further Hezbollah "military infrastructure" in Mjadel and Baraasheet, also in the south.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said "Israeli warplanes launched a strike on the town of Mahrouneh" while other raids targeted buildings in Jbaa, Mjadel and Baraasheet.

Footage shared online showed the moment the airstrikes fell on the building and levelled some of them.

"It's a completely civilian area. We're used to Israeli threats from time to time," local official Yassir Madi told journalists, including AFP.

"As for the damage, there's not a window within 300 metres that didn't break. Everyone is living in shock," he added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed it struck "weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah" located in the "heart of the civilian population".

"This is yet another example of Hezbollah's cynical use of Lebanese civilians as human shields, and continued operations from within civilian areas," it said.

Lebanon's government has committed to disarming Hezbollah. The Lebanese army briefed ministers during a cabinet meeting on Thursday on the military's latest progress south of the Litani River.

Footage shared by Lebanese media on Thursday showed a Lebanese army patrol transporting missiles it had confiscated from a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon.

But the militant group has rejected surrendering its arms, and many in the country fear a return to expanded Israeli military operations.

Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held surprise talks Wednesday under the auspices of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism at the UN peacekeeping force's headquarters in Lebanon's Naqoura near the border with Israel.

Lebanon and Israel have technically been at war since 1948, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam cautioned the new diplomatic contact did not amount to broader peace discussions.

The United States has been piling pressure on Lebanon to rapidly disarm Hezbollah, and has pushed for direct talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

(Agencies, The New Arab)