Lebanon accuses Israel of strikes and demolitions in the south amid fragile ceasefire

Lebanon has accused Israel of carrying out strikes, incursions and demolitions in the country's south, saying the attacks wounded several people and destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the actions amounted to a serious breach of international law and international humanitarian law. His comments came after Israel's defence minister said Israeli forces were destroying underground infrastructure and houses in southern Lebanon.

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Salam rejected Israel's claim that the villages it had destroyed were military sites, saying the argument did not justify the destruction of homes, the displacement of residents or efforts to stop them returning. He said the attacks were deliberate and formed part of what Lebanon sees as a wider pattern of damage in the south. The statement was issued on Wednesday, hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz visited southern Lebanon and made his remarks there.

The same day, Israeli attacks wounded several people in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese account. Katz also said Israeli troops would not withdraw from occupied zones in Lebanon, Syria or Gaza. A US State Department official said Washington expected all parties to act in line with the framework they had agreed to, while adding that Israel had said it had no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.

The comments underline the continuing diplomatic sensitivity around the border and the ceasefire arrangements. The latest violence matters because it comes against the backdrop of a ceasefire that has grown increasingly fragile. Lebanon says Israeli forces have continued attacks despite the truce, while also occupying dozens of villages across southern Lebanon.

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The situation has raised concerns about the durability of the agreement and the risk of further escalation along the border. It also keeps pressure on efforts to prevent the conflict from widening again. The row follows earlier incidents this month, including an Israeli strike on the town of Mansouri on August 5 after Israel accused Hezbollah of a ceasefire violation that killed two Israeli soldiers near Majdal Zoun.

The Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate Mansouri, the first such order in weeks, and a separate attack elsewhere killed one person and wounded 11. A day later, an Israeli strike hit a home in Burj al-Shemali. Hezbollah did not claim the attack that killed the Israeli soldiers and has not publicly addressed it directly.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider conflict after Hezbollah launched attacks on northern Israel, and a US-mediated ceasefire began on April 17. Even so, Israeli forces have continued their attacks and there is still no timeline for a full withdrawal from the occupied areas. What remains unclear is how long the current pattern of strikes and demolitions will continue, whether the ceasefire framework can still hold, and whether diplomatic pressure will alter the military posture on either side.

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