Published on 4/30/2026
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Last update: 14:33 (Mecca time)
Israel launched intensive raids on southern Lebanon – today, Thursday – and blew up residential squares, while the Israeli army announced that a drone hit a target in the Western Galilee, which led to the ignition of a military vehicle at the site.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that 9 people were killed, including two children, and 23 others were injured as a result of Israeli raids that targeted the towns of Jibshit, Toul, and Harouf in the south of the country.
The official Lebanese News Agency said that Israeli warplanes continued their attacks since dawn on villages in the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon, targeting the towns of Beit Yahoun and Al-Jumaimeh, causing damage to infrastructure and homes.
The agency said that the Israeli army launched raids on the towns of Baraashit and Haris, also in the Bint Jbeil district, in three batches, targeting a number of residential buildings and roads.
The Al Jazeera correspondent also reported that Israeli raids targeted the towns of Khirbet Salam, Kafra, Haris, Srifa, Toul, Jabshit, Harouf, Beit Yahoun, Ghandouriya, and Qalawayh in the south as well.
Earlier this morning, Al Jazeera’s correspondent said that Israeli artillery shelling targeted the eastern towns of Zawtar, Yahmar al-Shaqif, and Beit al-Siyad in southern Lebanon.
Israeli warnings
In another development, the Israeli army issued a warning to the residents of 8 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately, and called on them to move away from them a distance of no less than 1,000 meters, coinciding with its announcement of the start of carrying out a series of strikes on what it said were “Hezbollah targets” in the region.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Beirut, Tamer Al-Sammadi, reported an escalation in the intensity of military operations in southern Lebanon, noting that the Israeli army blew up residential squares in Bint Jbeil, as part of the scorched earth policy pursued by Israel by bombing residential squares in the south, especially in the cities of Bint Jbeil and Khiam.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the Israeli army killed 5 Lebanese from one family, in a raid on a town in the south of the country. The Lebanese army also confirmed that a soldier and his brother were killed in an Israeli raid that targeted their bicycle in the town of Khirbet Selm in the south of the country.
Israeli soldiers were injured
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that 12 of its soldiers were injured as a result of the explosion of a Hezbollah drone with an armored vehicle near the Shumira area in the Western Galilee on Thursday morning.
Earlier today, Israeli Army Radio said that a drone launched from southern Lebanon hit a target in the Shumira area in Western Galilee, causing a vehicle to catch fire at the site without causing any injuries.
Israeli Channel 12 also reported that a number of vehicles were damaged as a result of a missile launched from Lebanon near the Shomera area, and the Israel Hayom newspaper confirmed that an armored vehicle was hit and fires broke out as a result of the missile attack that targeted the area.
These developments come after the Israeli Home Front announced the sounding of sirens in 15 locations in the Western Galilee, indicating that missile and drone launches had been detected from Lebanon.
In another development, the Israeli army announced the launch of an interceptor missile towards what it said was a “suspicious air target” that was monitored in the area where its forces are stationed in southern Lebanon.
Shooting down an Israeli drone
On the other hand, Hezbollah announced on Thursday that it shot down, with a surface-to-air missile, an Israeli Hermes 450 Zik drone in the airspace of the city of Nabatieh.
The party also announced that its fighters targeted, with a drone, a Type 155 self-propelled artillery gun south of the town of Yarin, in southern Lebanon, confirming that it was hit.
The Israeli army announced that Hezbollah shot down an Israeli military drone over southern Lebanon using a surface-to-air missile, indicating that the incident was being investigated.
The Israeli army also announced that it had dismantled Hezbollah missile launching sites and infrastructure in the Shebaa Farms.
Calls to put pressure on Israel
In light of these developments, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed the need to put pressure on Israel to force it to respect international laws and agreements and stop targeting civilians and first responders in his country.
Aoun said that Israeli violations and demolitions of homes and places of worship are still continuing in southern Lebanon despite the announcement of a ceasefire, calling on the competent authorities to help Lebanon reveal the fate of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The Lebanese presidency also reported that the UN Special Coordinator informed President Joseph Aoun of the results of her contacts in Israel, as part of efforts aimed at establishing the ceasefire.
For his part, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on the state, with all its powers, and the international community to take urgent action to oblige Israel to stop its aggression immediately, calling for the necessity of expediting the formation of an international fact-finding committee to investigate the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Lebanese.
Trump asks for de-escalation
On the other hand, Axios quoted US President Donald Trump as saying that he informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the necessity of not resuming the war completely in Lebanon. Trump added that when Iran is eliminated, Hezbollah will be automatically eliminated.
Despite the truce declared in Lebanon, Israel continues to escalate its military operations in the south through air strikes and artillery shelling on areas in the south of the country, in continuing violations of the ceasefire.
Since last March 2, Israel has launched an aggression against Lebanon, which resulted in the killing of 2,534 people and the injury of 7,863 others, and caused the displacement of more than 1.6 million citizens, or one-fifth of the population, according to the latest official data.
On April 17, a 10-day truce began, which was later extended until May 17, but Israel violates it daily, with bloody bombing and massive bombing of buildings in dozens of villages in southern Lebanon.
