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BEIRUT: The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes on Thursday evening targeting areas south and north of the Litani River, after issuing urgent warnings for residents to stay away from six designated locations. 

This tactic mirrors the approach followed during the Israeli war on Hezbollah that began in October 2023 and which ended with a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.

The airstrikes hit sites around the town of Dibbin and three locations in Mays Al-Jabal, with initial reports indicating that a Syrian national was injured in the raids. A house in Kfar Tibnit was also targeted.

A second wave of raids struck areas in the Tyre district, specifically Burj Qalaya and Al-Shahabiya. 

“The timing of the attacks is striking, as it coincides with Hezbollah’s preparations to commemorate the first anniversary of the assassinations of its two Secretary-Generals Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine,” a Lebanese security source told Arab News. “This is an attempt to remind the party that Israel continues to pursue it.” 

The source expected Israeli attacks to escalate until the first anniversary of Nasrallah’s death on Sept. 27. 

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was informed of the Israeli threats and subsequently of the attacks during a Cabinet session, and said: “The Lebanese government’s position is commitment to the cessation of hostilities and the government’s engagement in the mechanism’s meetings.”

Salam said during the session: “The legitimate question today is: Where is Israel’s commitment to these mechanisms?

“How can it be possible to continue to practice intimidation and attacks while these meetings are supposed to ensure the full implementation of Resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities?”

The Cabinet called on the international community — especially the signatories of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement — to apply maximum pressure on Israel to immediately halt its attacks and return to diplomatic negotiations. Under the terms of the mechanism and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, Israel committed to several obligations, including withdrawing from the Lebanese territories it still occupies, ceasing all attacks, and releasing prisoners.

The Israeli military confirmed the attacks on Lebanon in a statement, claiming that it struck “military targets belonging to Hezbollah.”

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed in a video posted on social media that the attacks were “in response to Hezbollah’s prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area.”

Adraee addressed the residents of the targeted areas before the strikes, saying: “You are located in buildings used by the terrorist Hezbollah. For your own safety, you are obliged to evacuate these buildings and adjacent buildings immediately and move at least 500 meters away from them. Remaining in these buildings exposes you to danger.”

The Kfar Tibnit-Nabatieh Al-Fawqa road experienced heavy traffic toward the city of Nabatieh and neighboring towns due to the displacement of threatened residents. The road leading to Kfar Tibnit was closed for public safety.

The Israeli military also targeted the Baalbek area on Wednesday night with airstrikes that killed Hussein Saifo Sharif and wounded several other people. The Israeli army claimed that Sharif was “a major arms dealer and supplier operating from Lebanon to direct cells inside Syria planning to carry out plots against Israel.” It added: “His activities constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

The Lebanese Army Command said it had recorded “more than 4,500 violations of Lebanese sovereignty by land, air, and sea since the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement came into effect … including the launching of Molotov cocktails and the bombing of homes.”

It explained that Thursday’s attacks “on southern villages and civilians in populated areas resulted in deaths and injuries,” and warned that “these attacks and violations hinder the army’s deployment in the south, and their continuation will hinder the implementation of its plan, starting from the area south of the Litani River.”

It added: “The Army Command is monitoring these violations in coordination with the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Committee and UNIFIL forces.”

The body revealed that, as part of “monitoring engineering survey operations in the southern regions, a specialized military unit found and dismantled a camouflaged spy device that the Israeli enemy had placed in the Labbouneh-Tyre area.”