On Monday, September 7, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing the Hezbollah group of violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement. According to Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA), overnight strikes in the village of Kfar Roummane killed 11 people, including two infants. A day earlier, separate Israeli strikes killed another seven people.
Israel is intensifying strikes in the Nabatieh area, claiming that Hezbollah is conducting “repeated drone attacks” and “attempting to rebuild its military capabilities in southern Lebanon.” The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the group has violated the ceasefire agreement, which requires its disarmament. Previously, on Thursday, Israel also claimed to have captured the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge from Hezbollah, though the group has not commented on this claim.
Aftermath of the attacks in Kfar Roummane
In the village of Kfar Roummane, an Israeli strike destroyed a three-story residential building, killing nine people. Two more rescue workers were killed when the vehicle they were in was targeted. One of the victims was 18 years old. He worked for a civil defense organization affiliated with the Amal movement, a political ally of Hezbollah.
An AFP photographer saw school textbooks and remnants of furniture scattered among the rubble at the site of the destroyed building. On Monday morning, rescue workers continued searching for potential victims under the debris.
Local residents had returned to their homes following the June ceasefire, having previously been forced to leave due to the war. “Since we returned here, we have been living in fear,” local resident Fouad Chakaron told AFP. He insisted that the destroyed building housed “civilians who had no connection to anyone.”
Following the strike, neighboring residents fled their homes, which also sustained damage.
Strike without warning
Israel did not warn the residents of Kfar Roummane before the strike, though the Israeli military did issue an evacuation order before a separate attack on the nearby Deir Zahrani. In a message in Arabic, the Israeli military stated that the target was a “Hezbollah terrorist facility” and warned that anyone remaining in the area would be in danger.
Resident Abbas Toufaily told AFP that around 2:00 a.m., he received a call informing him that he needed to leave his house because it was being targeted. “I said that is impossible. Why is my house being targeted? There is nothing in it. I could not believe it,” he said.
He said he led his wife, children, and elderly mother out into the street in their pajamas. Together, they watched as their home was destroyed.
Hostilities and ceasefire
Hostilities in Lebanon began in March after Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran. The intensity of the fighting later decreased following a June memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran regarding a broader war in the Middle East and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon reached later that month.
On Sunday, Israeli strikes claimed the lives of seven more people, following attacks on Friday that resulted in four deaths. The Israeli military stated it was responding to Hezbollah launching two drones toward its troops inside Lebanon, but did not specify if there were any casualties.
Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any attacks since June 20. According to Beirut, Israeli airstrikes and a ground incursion into Lebanon since March have resulted in the deaths of over 4,300 people.
Israeli forces continue to operate within a self-declared “security zone” that extends approximately 10 km into Lebanon along the border. On Sunday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on Washington and the international community to help end the Israeli attacks.
Source: Channel NewsAsia
