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The National News Agency reported Israeli artillery strikes targeted the Kfar Reman area in Nabatieh district along with Wadi al-Salouqi in Bint Jbeil and the outskirts of Arnoun on September 13. Warplanes also hit the Ali al-Taher forest near Nabatieh al-Fawqa in successive raids while additional shelling struck Zawtar al-Sharqiyah. Local officials noted smoke rising from impacted zones though no casualties were immediately confirmed by Lebanese authorities.
The National News Agency separately detailed heavy machine-gun fire in the vicinity of border villages including Ramyeh and Qawzah at dawn as part of the same wave of activity. These actions align with a pattern the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has tracked since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. UNIFIL has logged thousands of violations including more than 2400 military activities in its area of operations according to data compiled by the mission.
An Associated Press review of an internal UNIFIL assessment detailed a surge in aggressive behavior by Israeli forces toward peacekeepers with incidents increasing from one in January 2025 to 27 in December. The report cited multiple examples of machine-gun fire landing near patrols and drone-dropped grenades exploding in proximity to UN vehicles. UNIFIL stated that attacks on or near peacekeepers constitute serious violations of Resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 conflict and called for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
The ceasefire agreement had mandated full Israeli pullout from southern Lebanon within 60 days with an extension to February 18 2025 but the Israeli military retained positions at five strategic points beyond that deadline. The National News Agency has chronicled repeated artillery and air strikes in the intervening months including phosphorus munitions in some cases that raised environmental alarms. Lebanese health authorities have recorded thousands of deaths and injuries from such actions since early 2025.
In one documented UNIFIL incident an Israeli tank advanced into Lebanese territory and fired shells that landed 150 meters from peacekeepers who were monitoring the Blue Line. The peacekeepers had pre-notified Israeli forces of their patrol yet required laser tracking forced them to seek cover. UNIFIL urged an end to such behavior through liaison channels while the Israeli side has sometimes described fire as warning shots aimed at unidentified suspects.
The cumulative effect has kept southern Lebanon in a state of intermittent alerts with residents hesitant to return to villages near the border. The Associated Press noted that UNIFIL peacekeepers from nearly 50 contributing nations continue routine patrols despite the elevated risks. Lebanese officials have pressed for stricter enforcement of the truce terms through diplomatic channels involving the United States and France.
