On Monday morning, an Israeli strike targeted the rooftop of a house near the funeral of a Hezbollah member in the southern Lebanese town of Aita el Chaab.
Since the onset of Israeli aggressions on the south, Aita el Chaab, amongst other towns on the border, has been severely and repeatedly targeted during the last three months. Another strike also took place on an empty house in Mays el Jabal.
Notably, the same house was already targeted on previous occasions.
More recently, a series of air raids took place today, Monday, December 18, targeting the borders of Aita El Chaab, Teir Harfa and Naqoura areas in South Lebanon as Israeli air operations intensified.
The scope of the fighting continues to increase significantly, with another Israeli drone strike bombing a room in a residential neighborhood in the Nabatieh district – 40 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.
While previously limited to statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatening Lebanon and Beirut from an escalated conflict, some sources have indicated that Israeli forces have devised a preliminary plan to invade the south of Lebanon.
On Sunday, Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and continued its strikes on settlements, expanding its targeting towards the town of Safad. Israeli forces on their part killed three Hezbollah members and caused several injuries as part of air raids.
During the last week, reconnaissance flights and trails of Israeli airplanes have been observed across Lebanese territory, spanning the South and all the way to Mount Lebanon and Beirut.
Attempts to Sow Discord
Last week and for the first time since the escalations of fighting in October, the Israeli army dropped leaflets on Southern Lebanon near the town of Kfarchouba addressing “residents of South Lebanon.”
The leaflets sought to sow discord among Lebanese residents and claimed to “inform” people that Hezbollah is taking the opportunity during the current fighting to use people’s houses to carry out its operations. The leaflets also asked residents of the South to stop Hezbollah’s “terrorism” for their own safety.
It is not the first time that the Israeli army tries to sow discord within the Lebanese population, and such incidents bring back memories of the leaflets dropped in the 2006 war, and previously of the civil war when many factions across the country collaborated with the Israeli army – the most notable of which is the South Lebanon Army.
Far from Abatement
The current round of fighting remains far from abatement and calming down any time soon. Israeli forces have continued to target civilian locations in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank and their ground invasion of Gaza remains far from over according to occupation officials. So far, Israeli forces have killed 18,787 individuals in Gaza, including 7,729 children, as part of its genocidal campaign.
As international pressure mounts on Israeli forces to cease fire and tone down its operations, including pressure coming from its closest ally, the United States, the conflict enters unstable territories. The escalations of October 7 have dramatically changed the Middle East region’s geopolitical landscape and global politics, and have put into question existing international humanitarian law mechanisms and frameworks.