Israeli ground forces pushed to their deepest point in Lebanon in six weeks yesterday, briefly capturing a strategic position in the village of Chamaa, approximately five kilometres from the Israeli border, before pulling back. The National News Agency of Lebanon reported that Israeli troops detonated the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet and several homes in Chamaa, though these claims could not be independently verified.

 

 

Israel’s military did not comment on the shrine but confirmed that its operations in southern Lebanon remained ‘limited, localized, and targeted.’ The advance occurred as Israeli warplanes intensified their bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs, Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, and other southern Lebanese areas, including Tyre. An airstrike on Khraibeh, a northeastern village, reportedly killed a couple and their four children, according to the National News Agency.

 

 

The Israeli military stated that it targeted multiple sites used by Hezbollah, while Lebanese sources reported that the militant group fired over 60 projectiles into Israel on the same day, though no further details were provided by Israel. This escalation is part of Israel’s campaign, initiated in late September, aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s military capabilities and halting its attacks on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

 

 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports that more than 3,400 people have died from Israeli strikes, with 80% of these casualties occurring in the past two months. Israel insists its military operations are necessary to enable thousands of Israelis to return to their homes near the Lebanon border.