Lebanon braces for renewed Israeli escalation as strikes continue in the south
Residents of Lebanon are packing bags and stocking up on supplies amid fears that Israel could resume large-scale attacks if the United States moves against Iran again, while Israeli forces bombed the town of al-Tayri, in the Bint Jbeil district of the south, on Friday. No casualty figures were given. The same day, Israeli forces also fired an artillery shell at farmland near the village of al-Samdaniyah al-Sharqiyah, in Quneitra, southern Syria.
Israeli officials accuse the Lebanese army of failing to meet its obligations under a US-brokered framework agreement signed in June. The deal creates "pilot zones" from which Israel is meant to withdraw while the army moves in to disarm Hezbollah. The Lebanese army denies the accusation. Analyst Mohamad Bazzi argues that Israel needs no pretext to resume a large-scale war.
Lebanon has already paid dearly. The health ministry counts about 9,000 deaths since October 2023, most of them in the autumn of 2024 and in March and April 2026, when a ceasefire was announced. Israel still occupies up to 10 kilometres of Lebanese territory behind what it calls the Yellow Line and continues demolitions there.
Israel says its operations aim to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities. Yet Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006 calls for a cessation of hostilities and for respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, and the UN Charter forbids the use of force against a state's territorial integrity. Occupying land during a ceasefire sits uneasily with both.
Algeria's long-standing diplomacy defends the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab states, Lebanon included, and rejects the use of force as a means of settling regional disputes.
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