Lebanon reported an Israeli attack on the south of the country on Saturday, with Israeli forces issuing evacuation warnings for the city of Nabatiyeh and more than 20 other locations ahead of the attack.
The latest attacks come as the United States and Iran say they are close to a deal to end their war in the Middle East, and Lebanon could also be drawn into the conflict as Hezbollah attacks Israel in support of its patron Tehran.
The state-run National News Agency said Israeli airstrikes hit several areas, particularly around the southern city of Nabatiya.
An AFP photographer in the Nabatiyah region heard explosions around Kafar Rehman, which has been targeted several times, and saw smoke billowing from Kafat Bunit, which was not covered by evacuation warnings.
The Lebanese army later said a soldier was seriously injured after being hit by an Israeli drone on the road between Kfar Rehman and Nabatyeh. Earlier, attempts were made to target him as he approached a hospital in the city.
The NNA also said an Israeli attack killed a local official in Rihan, a district south of Jezzin.
An AFP correspondent in Nabatieh said the city was almost deserted, with reports of shelling in and around the city during the night and on Saturday.
– Evacuation warning –
The Israeli military issued two warnings to residents of Nabatiya and its surrounding areas, as well as 24 locations near the coast, asking them to “evacuate their homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani River, approximately 45 kilometers from Israel’s southern border.”
Last month, Israel declared all areas south of the river a “war zone” and has been launching a fierce attack on the region ever since.
Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks against invading Israeli forces, said its militants launched drone attacks on Israeli military vehicles in the south.
It foiled a nighttime “infiltration” attempt by Israeli forces in the Kfatbnit area near Nabaitai after ambushing Israeli troops and engaging in a “medium weapons exchange,” the statement said.
The group also reported clashes with Israeli soldiers near Majdal Zoun, close to the Israeli border.
The Israeli military also said it “intercepted a suspicious air target entering Israeli territory from Lebanon.”
It was subsequently announced that “more than 70 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures have been attacked in the past 24 hours.”
New attacks took place late Saturday in two areas of Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek region, the state news agency reported.
-“The test of fate”-
Iran insists Lebanon must be part of any deal to end the broader Middle East war, and a senior U.S. official said on Friday that a draft peace deal “includes Lebanon.”
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah has adhered to a ceasefire that was due to take effect in April, with a conditional ceasefire announced this month after Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington also failed to stop the fighting.
Hezbollah has rejected direct negotiations and a conditional agreement that would have required it to cease attacks but made no mention of Israel doing so or withdrawing its troops from Lebanon.
Lebanon says massive Israeli air strikes and ground incursions have killed 3,756 people so far.
Meanwhile, Lebanese leaders have accused Tehran of treating Lebanon as a “bargaining chip.”
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said on Saturday that Lebanon should abide by any U.S.-Iran agreement involving the country.
“We want the Lebanese government to negotiate for itself and no one is suggesting giving up this role,” Fayyad said.
“But the country must abandon its policy of being overwhelmed by the Israelis and bowing to the Americans.”
Pakistan’s prime minister, who mediates between Tehran and Washington, insisted on Saturday that a deal was “closer than ever”.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that Lebanon faced “a test of fate.
“Either its people unite around a sovereign state that monopolizes weapons, upholds the law and protects its citizens regardless of affiliation or position, or it remains subject to the logic of militias,” he said.
Further talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled for later this month.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
