South Lebanon Sees IOF Advance After Truce Agreement

By Staff, Agencies

"Israeli" occupation forces [IOF] carried out new attacks on several towns in southern Lebanon, marking an escalation shortly after a United States-brokered agreement between Beirut and "Tel Aviv".

The IOF advanced toward the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Shuba under the cover of heavy machine-gun fire on Saturday, according to local reports.

Earlier, the IOF reportedly detonated a stun grenade near the town of Kfar Tebnit, causing alarm among residents.

The occupying entity’s warplanes also struck a location in the border town of Markaba overnight, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency [NNA].

The attacks follow an announcement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying a 14-point agreement had been reached between Lebanon and the "Israeli" enemy.

"Israel’s" ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, welcomed the agreement, claiming that under its terms, “Hezbollah is out.”

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised the deal, describing it as a major achievement and a significant step toward advancing "Israel’s" objectives in Lebanon.

Netanyahu further stated that "Israel" would not allow Lebanese residents to return to areas within the so-called security belt under "Israeli" control and insisted that the IOF would remain in the occupied parts of southern Lebanon.

For his part, Lebanese MP Hassan Fadlallah strongly criticized the framework, warning that Lebanese authorities would not be able to implement it without dragging the country toward “civil war.”

Since March 2, when the "Israeli" occupation launched its latest war against Lebanon, at least 3,600 people have been martyred and 11,000 wounded, while Hezbollah has continued military operations along the border in response to the enemy's aggression.

Notably, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] signed by Iran and the US in June includes provisions calling for an end to "Israeli" attacks on Lebanon and respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.