Arabic version: رئيس وزراء لبنان يدين الضربات الإسرائيلية في الجنوب

According to Al Jazeera, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israeli attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes in the country’s south constitute a serious violation of international law and international humanitarian law. Lebanon’s government accused Israel of deliberately destroying homes and civilian infrastructure while a ceasefire has become increasingly fragile.

Salam rejected Israeli claims that destroyed villages were military sites. He said the assertion could not justify destroying the villages, displacing residents or preventing their return. His comments followed a visit to southern Lebanon by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said Israeli forces were destroying underground infrastructure and all houses there. Katz also said Israeli troops would not withdraw from occupied zones in Lebanon, Syria or Gaza.

Israeli attacks wounded several people in southern Lebanon on the same day. A US State Department official said Washington expected all parties to act consistently with the framework they had agreed to, while adding that Israel had clearly stated it had no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.

Israel struck Mansouri on August 5 after accusing Hezbollah of a ceasefire violation that killed two Israeli soldiers near Majdal Zoun. The Israeli military ordered Mansouri residents to evacuate, and a separate attack killed one person and wounded 11. The following day, an Israeli strike hit a home in Burj al-Shemali. Hezbollah did not claim the attack that killed the soldiers and has made no public statement directly addressing it.

A US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17, but Israeli forces have continued attacks and occupy dozens of villages across southern Lebanon. Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes and ground operations since March have killed 4,333 people and displaced more than a million. Lebanon and Israel have held seven rounds of US-mediated talks on implementing a June framework that envisaged a gradual Israeli withdrawal and Lebanese army deployment in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.