Has Hezbollah re-established deterrence with Israel?
The intensity of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel has lessened after a spectacular exchange of attacks on August 25.
But will Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu try to inflame the border with Lebanon – or has Hezbollah succeeded in re-establishing deterrence?
Qassem Kassir, a political analyst believed to be close to Hezbollah, told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah’s mass rocket and drone attack on Israel on August 25 has “returned things to what they were” before Israel assassinated its top commander Fuad Shukr.
Karim Emile Bitar, professor of international relations at Saint Joseph’s University in Beirut, said “Israel will probably continue to strike certain targets in Lebanon but I doubt that in the near future they will go after a major figure like Fuad Shukr”.
Well Israel is focused on the West Bank now :/ War with Hezbollah is still ongoing nevertheless.
Israel claims overnight air raid on Hezbollah weapons depot in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military claims its air forces struck several sites in southern Lebanon overnight, including a Hezbollah weapons depot.
The munition storage facility was located near the village of Blida, while other targeted military sites were near the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Yarin, the army said.
The attacks follow another deadly Israeli air raid yesterday near the southern Lebanese town of Kafra, which severely damaged property in the area and killed at least one person, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Israeli media reports damage to buildings following fire from Lebanon
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan has reported that buildings have been damaged in northern Israel’s Metula, after three antitank missiles were fired from Lebanon.
The outlet reported no casualties from the incident.
Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese group that has been carrying out attacks on Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, has not yet issued a statement claiming an attack on Metula, but we will update you as events develop.
Fires break out in southern Lebanon as Israel drops phosphorus shells
The Israeli army has fired artillery shells containing white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, state news agency NNA has reported.
The incendiary weapon caused fires to break out in the area between Tell en-Nhas and el-Hamames, according to NNA.
Human Rights Watch has verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across southern Lebanon since October 2023.
The use of airburst white phosphorus is prohibited under international law.
Hezbollah says it hit Israeli military targets in Metula, Shebaa Farms
The Lebanese group has announced in a statement posted on its Telegram channel that it targeted and hit buildings in northern Israel’s Metula, as well as an Israeli military barracks in the Shebaa Farms, amid ongoing tit-for-tat attacks along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Hezbollah says it struck “buildings used by enemy soldiers in the settlement of Metula with appropriate weapons, and hit them directly”. Earlier, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that buildings in Metula had been damaged by three antitank missiles. Hezbollah also said it hit Ruwaisat al-Qarn in the Shebaa Farms.
“We bombed the Zabadin barracks with rockets and achieved a direct hit,” Hezbollah added in a separate statement.
Shebaa Farms, a territory claimed by Lebanon, was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israel hits alleged Hezbollah building in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military has released a video showing what it said was a raid on a Hezbollah target in the the al-Matmura area in southern Lebanon. The video shows the silhouette of a person moving on the ground floor of a two-story building before it is engulfed in smoke as a strike hits it.
In a separate post on X, the army also confirmed that Hezbollah launched strikes on the Metula area. It said firefighters were working to put out a fire but added that no casualties were reported.
