Israel Regime Pounds Southern Lebanon After Rare Direct Talks

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israel’s regime launched a new wave of heavy airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday, a day after the adversaries held their first direct meeting in decades.

Lebanese media said Israeli warplanes hit civilian and residential areas in the towns of Mjadel and Mahrouna in South Governorate, as well as Baraachit and Jbaa in Nabatieh Governorate.

The attacks caused extensive destruction to homes in densely populated districts and forced large numbers of residents to flee, although no casualties were immediately reported.

Shortly before the bombardment, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted evacuation warnings for the four towns on social media.

The Israeli military claimed without proof in a statement that it had “struck several weapon storage facilities” belonging to the Hezbollah resistance movement.

Separately, the strikes marked yet another breach of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been in place since November 2024 following cross-border hostilities triggered by the Tel Aviv regime’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Israel was pushed into accepting the truce after sustaining significant battlefield losses and failing to meet its objectives, even as its operations killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.

In a related development, representatives from Lebanon and Israel held their first direct talks in decades on Wednesday in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura as part of a US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

Lebanon appointed former ambassador to Washington, Simon Karam, as its civilian representative, and he reportedly met Israeli security official Uri Resnick during the session.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the meeting “paved the way for upcoming sessions” scheduled to resume on December 19.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that Beirut remained “far” from any diplomatic normalization or economic engagement with Tel Aviv and that the discussions were strictly aimed at “defusing tension”.

He said Lebanon’s priorities include ending hostilities, securing the release of Lebanese detainees held by Israel, and ensuring Israel’s full withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Salam added that Lebanon remains committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which conditions any normalization with the occupying regime on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Separately, Lebanese broadcaster NBN reported Thursday that the talks were conducted indirectly, adding, “Lebanon is not considering normalization nor signing a peace agreement.”

Last month, Hezbollah rejected any direct talks with Israel amid heightened US pressure on Beirut to enter negotiations.

The resistance group warned that such “negotiation traps” would “only grant further gains to the Israeli enemy,” according to an open letter sent to the Lebanese government.

Source: Open Newswire @ Israel Regime Pounds Southern Lebanon After Rare Direct Talks – World news – Tasnim News Agency