Lebanese media reported Israeli strikes in villages in southern Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire announced Thursday and U.S. President Donald Trump’s public statement that Israel would no longer bomb Lebanon.
The Hezbollah-aligned newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that a drone struck a house between the villages of Haddatha and al-Tiri. Al Mayadeen reported artillery and machine-gun fire directed at the village of Kounine.
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Lebanese Army troops stationed in southern Lebanon
(Photo: REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki)
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group had contacted Iran’s leadership to inform it of what he described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire. He also criticized the Lebanese government, saying it was pursuing projects “that are not in the national interest.”
On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States would work with Lebanon and address “the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner,” adding, "Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the USA. Enough is enough!!!”
On Friday night, the IDF said special forces had landed on the Cristofani Ridge in southern Lebanon, at the foot of the Syrian Hermon area. The operation, codenamed “Eagle,” was carried out just minutes before the ceasefire took effect. It was the first time in the current conflict that the IDF had operated there.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun met for a situation assessment and to review efforts to shore up the ceasefire, including Aoun’s contacts with Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several Arab and foreign leaders.
After the meeting, Salam said the talks with Aoun addressed Lebanon’s readiness for negotiations and follow-up on implementation of government decisions, chief among them expanding state authority in Beirut and restricting weapons in the capital.
Salam also expressed hope that displaced residents from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahieh, would be able to return safely to their homes soon. He said the state would support their return and provide what was needed to ease the process, including repairing destroyed bridges and reopening roads.