Hezbollah announced a series of field operations targeting Israeli army sites, gatherings, and vehicles in southern Lebanon, on a day that witnessed a remarkable escalation on more than one axis, especially in Qantara, Yammar Beaufort, Rashaf, and the vicinity of the historic Beaufort Castle.
In successive statements issued by the military media, Hezbollah said that its operations were “in defense of Lebanon and its people,” and in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire and attacks that targeted southern villages and resulted in martyrs and wounded among civilians.
According to the data, at 02:45 today, the party targeted a gathering of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers in the town of Qantara, south of Lebanon, with a swarm of assault drones, before later announcing that it had targeted the same gathering at 08:00 with two missile launchers.
The party also announced that its members targeted, at 20:00 and 21:00 on Wednesday evening, gatherings of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Yahmar al-Shaqif and in the town of Rashaf, south of Lebanon, with two squadrons of assault drones.
In the vicinity of the historic Beaufort Castle, Hezbollah announced the implementation of a series of operations, including targeting two Merkava tanks at 16:00 with appropriate weapons, confirming their destruction, then targeting a gathering of Israeli army soldiers at 16:15 with artillery shells.
In another statement, the party announced that it had targeted a new logistical support center belonging to the Israeli army on the outskirts of the town of Yahmar al-Shaqif at 16:50 with two special drones.
He also announced at 17:15 that a Merkava tank in the vicinity of Beaufort Castle had been targeted with a guided missile, confirming its destruction, before announcing in a later statement that a gathering of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers had been targeted at the newly created Nimr al-Jamal site at 16:00 with two attack drones.
The statements continued in the evening, as Hezbollah announced at 19:30 that it had targeted two Merkava tanks in the vicinity of Beaufort Castle in the two Ababil attack areas, confirming that casualties had been achieved. Then, at 20:30, it announced that it had targeted another Merkava tank in the same vicinity with a guided missile, confirming its destruction.
In a parallel context, the military media published video clips of previous operations, including targeting Israeli army gatherings in Qantara, Taibe, and the vicinity of Beaufort Castle on May 31, and targeting Israeli technical equipment in the town of Rashaf on May 30 in the Ababil district, in addition to scenes of targeting a Hummer in the vicinity of Zawtar al-Sharqiya on May 26, and a Merkava tank on the southern outskirts of Zawtar al-Sharqiya on June 2.
These statements coincided with a high-profile political position by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, who considered that Washington’s announcement of a ceasefire constituted an unacceptable path if its goal was to disarm the resistance, stressing that the party was only concerned with a comprehensive cessation of aggression and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Qassem said that any link between stopping the aggression and the future of the resistance is rejected, calling for the cessation of Israeli attacks on land, sea and air, withdrawal from Lebanese territory, the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River, the liberation of prisoners, the return of the people to their villages, and the launch of the reconstruction workshop.
These developments come in light of the continuing field tension on the southern front, in conjunction with international negotiations and communications aimed at establishing a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. However, the succession of field statements reflects that the front is still open to a wide escalation, at a time when military calculations are intertwined with the political debate about the future of security arrangements south of the Litani, the role of the Lebanese army, and guarantees of complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
