Israel carries out blasts across south Lebanon despite ‘ceasefire’ deal

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s military attacked al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon and conducted explosions in nearby Majdal Zoun on Friday, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency, even as a U.S.-brokered framework intended to halt fighting remains under discussion. Local reports said the Majdal Zoun blast was audible in Tyre, more than 15km away. The report said such strikes and demolitions have continued in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire arrangement.

The latest incidents follow other reported violence in the area. Al Jazeera said an Israeli strike on an ambulance in Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Thursday wounded two medics, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry condemning it as a violation of humanitarian norms. The outlet also reported that Israeli forces have been demolishing villages near the border, while Israel says its operations are meant to prevent Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.

The developments come after a framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26. According to Al Jazeera, the plan calls for the Lebanese army to take control of Israeli-occupied areas in the south if Hezbollah is disarmed, but it does not set a fixed timetable for withdrawal. Lebanese and Israeli officials have been holding implementation talks, with another round expected on August 4 in Italy.

Hezbollah has rejected the agreement, and its leader Naim Qassem has called for armed resistance against Israel’s presence in Lebanon. Al Jazeera reported that Lebanese troops deployed this week to the first “pilot zone” villages, though returning residents in Froun and Ghandouriyeh said those villages had not been occupied by Israeli forces and argued no territory had been handed back.