At dawn on Sunday, southern Lebanon witnessed a broad Israeli military escalation, as the Israeli army launched airstrikes, demolished homes, and conducted artillery shelling and gunfire on towns in the Tyre, Nabatieh, Marjayoun, and Bint Jbeil districts, including Mansouri, Wadi Zibqin, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Mayfadoun, Kafr Tebnit, Beit Yahoun, and Haddatha, using Apache combat helicopters for the first time in its daily attacks, according to the Lebanese National News Agency. The Israeli army said the attacks came in response to Hezbollah firing an explosive drone on Saturday night toward its forces in what it calls the security zone in southern Lebanon, and its spokeswoman Ella Waweya announced that Hezbollah infrastructure was targeted, warning that any use of force from Lebanese territory would be met with a strong response and affirming commitment to the agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Reports also spoke of strikes on Hezbollah targets and Israeli drone flights over the Tyre area.
On the other side, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, on the second anniversary of the assassination of former secretaries-general Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din, called on the Lebanese authority to stop what he described as concessions and freeze direct negotiations with Israel, accusing it of aiding the Israeli-American project and betting on Washington and Tel Aviv. He linked any readiness for dialogue on the exclusivity of weapons to the liberation of southern Lebanon and the return of its residents, rejected the Lebanese army being a tool to disarm Hezbollah, describing it as a national army, and considered the framework agreement a shameful concession by the Lebanese authority. This comes ahead of a meeting expected Monday in Washington between Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, amid Lebanese fears that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will expand the security zone in southern Lebanon by targeting the heights between Iqlim al-Tuffah and Jabal al-Rihan, and the possibility of postponing the eighth round of negotiations until after the Knesset elections. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also called for war in the West Bank and annexation of lands up to the Litani River. In a related context, a report addressed the shift in Hezbollah-Iran relations after Nasrallah's assassination, noting that the party has become more dependent on the Revolutionary Guard to rebuild its capabilities, amid domestic pressures and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Domestically, positions varied: MP Elias Hankash affirmed that Lebanon will not give up one inch of its territory and supported the state in negotiations to liberate Lebanese land, immediately disarm illegal weapons, and achieve peace, while Samir Geagea said no decent life can be imagined as long as Hezbollah's weapons remain. Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai presided over Mass at the St. George Maronite Cathedral in central Beirut in the presence of President General Joseph Aoun, calling for one state with authority over weapons and the security decision, and for turning positions into practical steps in supporting and arming the Lebanese army after the Paris meeting on September 17, stressing that banking reform and restoring depositors' rights must not remain postponed. On displacement, an Israeli Alma Center report said more than 334,000 people are still displaced and accused Hezbollah of exploiting the protests of affected people and directing their anger toward the government, while the Committee of Families of the Occupied and Affected Villages organized stands in Beirut, Nabatieh, Tyre, and the West Bekaa demanding reconstruction, compensation, and shelter allowances.
Economically and socially, Tripoli returned to the forefront of projects with contracts and memoranda of understanding signed to activate its logistical role, and the government is working with the Syrian side to reconnect Tripoli port by railway, Qleiat airport, and the special economic zone, aiming to turn it into a regional commercial gateway linking Lebanon with Iraq, Jordan, the Gulf, and Turkey. Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani discussed with his Iraqi counterpart increasing Lebanese agricultural exports to Iraq and enhancing agricultural cooperation. Disagreement continued between Minister of Administrative Development Fadi Makki and Minister of Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Chehade over managing the digital transformation project and its $150 million loan, while the file of granting children of Lebanese women nationality remained stuck in Parliament due to the 1925 law and fears of settlement. In other news, Beirut Municipality seized health violations in butcher shops in the capital, a loud sound was heard in Beirut and its suburbs reportedly caused by a B7 shell, security arrested three people in Tripoli and seized drugs in their possession, and Riyadi Beirut crushed India's Indian Railways 104-81 in the Final 8 of the WASL basketball championship.