Israeli raids target southern Lebanon; pressure to disarm Hezbollah

Today, Israeli aircraft launched a series of air strikes on areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, coinciding with intensive flights of warplanes and drones over the country.

The National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone targeted a pickup truck in the city of Hermel without recording any injuries, while the airstrikes targeted the outskirts of the town of Al-Sha'ra in the Bekaa and the Eastern Range.

Lebanese media also reported that other raids targeted the Rayhan Heights and the Jarmaq area in the south of the country, in the second attack of its kind during the day.

In parallel, Reuters quoted Lebanese and Israeli security officials as saying that Israel is putting pressure on the Lebanese army to tighten its measures against Hezbollah weapons, through searches of private property in southern Lebanon, a request that the army leadership rejected for fear of the outbreak of internal conflicts.

An atmosphere of tension and widespread alert prevails in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, and Beirut, with escalating fears of the expansion of the circle of escalation, especially with Israeli warplanes and drones continuing to fly in the airspace of those areas.

This wave of escalation comes after Israeli reports that Hezbollah is reorganizing its military structure in the southern Lebanese regions.

ANHA