Israeli mortar fire hits southern Lebanon as drones fly over Beirut’s southern suburbs despite ceasefire

By Muhammed Ata and Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli forces fired mortar rounds Saturday at the outskirts of the town of Dhayra in southern Lebanon, while Israeli drones flew intensively over Beirut’s southern suburbs despite a ceasefire agreement, Lebanese media reported.

The shelling targeted areas near Dhayra in the Tyre district, according to the state news agency NNA.

In the same district, an Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb on the town of Naqoura, the agency reported, without providing immediate details on casualties or damage.

Israeli violations expanded to the capital, with Lebanese media reporting heavy drone overflights above Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

The ongoing escalation followed comments a day earlier by Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, who said Lebanon had received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel was preparing for a large-scale military operation. Raggi said diplomatic contacts had intensified “to protect Lebanon and its facilities from any potential strike,” according to the agency.

On Thursday, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the Israeli army has “completed preparations in recent weeks for a wide-scale attack on Hezbollah-linked sites if the Lebanese government and army fail to meet their commitment to dismantle the group’s weapons by the end of 2025.”

Israel “has informed the US that it will act on its own to disarm Hezbollah if this is not done effectively, even if it leads to days of fighting or a renewal of clashes on the northern front,” the broadcaster said, citing an unnamed security official.

The Lebanese government on Aug. 5 approved a plan, based on a draft proposal presented by US Special Envoy Tom Barrack, to place all weapons—including those held by Hezbollah—under state control and tasked the army with implementing the plan before the end of 2025.

Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the move and insists that Israeli forces must fully withdraw from Lebanese territory before laying down arms.

A ceasefire was reached between Tel Aviv and Beirut last year after more than a year of attacks against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip. More than 4,000 people were killed and 17,000 injured.

The Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon this January under the ceasefire, but instead only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.