Israeli Forces Cross Buffer Zone in South Lebanon
Residents of Haris, a town in southern Lebanon, reported that Israeli tanks and bulldozers crossed the “yellow line” that separates Israel’s declared buffer zone from Lebanese-controlled territory, entering the heart of the village and destroying a road that connected a populated neighborhood to the rest of the town.
Local official Hussein Jawad described the incursion, saying that Israeli forces had previously crossed the line once to erect an earthen berm, which residents hoped would establish a clear boundary. “But today they crossed it. They entered the heart of the village,” he said.
Videos circulating on social media showed armored Israeli bulldozers tearing up a paved road in Haris. Jawad said the vehicles descended from a nearby hilltop and cut off the neighborhood, prompting residents to flee their homes out of fear after seeing Israeli troops operating nearby.
The incident in Haris came amid a wider wave of Israeli military actions on Monday across southern Lebanon, according to reports from the scene and Lebanon’s National News Agency. In the large town of Khiam, homes, buildings, and agricultural land were reportedly set on fire. In Taybeh, Mays Al Jebel, and Yohmor, buildings were destroyed. A temporary school in Mays Al Jebel was also demolished, and Israeli forces detonated structures in Yohmor, which lies adjacent to the historic Beaufort Castle.
Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling also targeted areas near the Ali Al Taher ridge, a hill about 600 meters high overlooking the town of Nabatieh, and in Kfar Tebnit. In the nearby village of Kfar Roummane, paramedics recovered the bodies of two men killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday.
Continued Occupation and Expansion
Despite Israeli statements that it has no plans to permanently remain in south Lebanon, Israeli forces have withdrawn from only one small village and continue to occupy dozens of towns, according to local reports. In some areas, such as the village of Mansouri, residents are no longer permitted to return after Israel issued a forced displacement order this month, effectively expanding the territory it controls inside Lebanon up to 10 kilometers from the border through shelling and air raids.
Israeli forces have not yet carried out a full offensive on the Ali Al Taher hill, which is believed to conceal a Hezbollah base and network of tunnels. Reports indicate that Hezbollah fighters and advisers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are present in the area, though these claims could not be independently verified.
Iran’s Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said he remains in constant contact with fighters on the ground, but offered no further details.
The reports from southern Lebanon paint a picture of ongoing military activity and displacement, with civilians bearing the brunt of the operations. The situation remains fluid, and international observers have called for restraint on both sides.