Smoke rises following Israeli attack on area around Mount Ali al-Tahir in Nabatieh [Getty]
Lebanon reported Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday, as the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for the city of Nabatieh and more than 20 other locations ahead of raids.
The latest strikes came as the US and Iran indicated they were close to reaching a deal on ending the Middle East war that could also include Lebanon, which was drawn deeper into the conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its patron Tehran. Israel had already been attacking Lebanon on a daily basis in violation of a 2024 ceasefire deal.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli airstrikes hit several areas covered by the latest warnings, including the villages of Rihan and Sujud not far from Nabatieh, as well as other areas that were not mentioned.
An AFP photojournalist in the Nabatieh area heard blasts around Kfar Remman, which has been repeatedly targeted, and saw a plume of smoke rising from Kfar Tebnit, which was not included in the evacuation warnings.
NNA also said an Israeli strike killed a local official in Rihan, located in the southern region of Jezzine.
An AFP correspondent in Nabatieh said the city was almost deserted, reporting artillery shelling there and in nearby areas overnight and on Saturday.
The Israeli military had issued two warnings to residents of 24 locations – both in and around Nabatieh, and nearer to the coast – to “evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani River”, around 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the southern border with Israel.
Last month Israel declared all areas south of the river “combat zones”, and has since been heavily striking the area.
Hezbollah, which has kept up attacks on invading Israeli troops, said its fighters launched drone attacks on Israeli military vehicles in the south.
Israel’s military also said it “intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory”.
It later claimed that “over the past 24 hours, more than 70 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites were struck”.
Lebanon says Israel’s massive campaign of airstrikes and ground invasion have so far killed 3,756 people.
