After talk of normalization of ties with Lebanon, subject to a bunch of unilateral demands, Israel is back to attacking Lebanon from both the air and the ground, with troops crossing the border to attack and Israel carrying out airstrikes near the capital city of Beirut.
The Beirut strike hit the area of Sin el Fil, striking a car and killing the person within. The IDF issued a statement later Thursday claiming that the man was an operative for the Iranian Quds Force engaged in weapons smuggling to terrorist attack Israeli civilians.
As usual, there has been no confirmation of the identity of the person they killed and no evidence offered this was actually the case. Israel fairly regularly makes claims of weapons smuggling that there is little evidence to back up, and the IDF often posthumously promotes the people they kill into being of importance for their military. The strike hit the vehicle on the highway, killing one and wounding three. The IDF said they were targeting “weapons depots” in the area, before they came up with the Quds Force narrative.
Aftermath of an Israeli strike near Beirut 7/3/25 | Image from Reuters
On the ground, Israeli troops invaded southern Lebanon yet again, crossing the border and marching into Kfar Kila, planting explosives inside a civilian home they didn’t demolish during the occupation, and blew it up. They made no statement explaining this operation.
During the occupation that began after the ceasefire in November, IDF forces leveled a large number of buildings, including civilian homes, leaving many of the southernmost villages in Lebanon shells of destroyed buildings with a handful damaged but still standing. It seems that the damaged ones didn’t so much survive the war as become the new primary targets for incursions.
Israeli troops continue to occupy five military outposts inside Lebanon, despite the ceasefire calling for a withdrawal from the area. The outposts were built after the ceasefire went into effect, and Israeli military officials have indicated their intention to keep them.
One of these outposts, near the city of Khiam, saw Israeli troops open fire from the hilltop outpost against Khiam. No injuries were reported from the attack, and no explanation was made as to why IDF troops just started shooting at a city.
