Lebanese

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 5 (UPI) — The Lebanese Cabinet on Friday embraced a plan prepared by the Army to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, but decided to keep its details confidential, stating that the military would begin implementing it based on its available and limited capabilities.

Information Minister Paul Morcos, reading a statement at the end of the Cabinet session, said that the Council of Ministers “welcomed” the plan put forth by the Army Command and its “successive phases” aimed at ensuring the implementation of the decision to “restrict weapons to the hands of the legitimate authorities.”

Morcos said the Cabinet, in asking that the plan and its related deliberations remain confidential, requested the Army Command to submit a monthly report on progress made.

All five Shiite ministers, four of whom represent Hezbollah and its main ally, the Amal Movement, walked out of the session when Army Cmdr. Gen. Rodolphe Haykal Haykal joined to present the Army’s plan.

Hezbollah’s Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar explained in a post on X that they were protesting the discussion of the Army’s plan “at this timing,” arguing that achieving a “monopoly of weapons” requires initiating the process with “a defense strategy to protect Lebanon.”

Last month, the Cabinet endorsed the objectives of a U.S.-proposed plan to disarm Hezbollah and tasked the Army with preparing a strategy to enforce a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.

The Army’s plan reportedly did not include a clear timeframe for its implementation — a move intended to ease tensions with Hezbollah, which has refused to disarm and rejected the deadline previously set by the government because of Israel’s ongoing occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, daily air strikes and detention of Lebanese prisoners.

Morcos said the Army will begin to implement the plan, “but in accordance with the available and limited logistical, financial and human resources.”

He pointed to several “constraints” that hinder the plan’s execution, citing foremost among them Israel’s ongoing violations of the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States and France to end the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.

While Hezbollah implicitly agreed to discuss its weapons as part of a national defense strategy, it resisted government efforts to set a timetable for disarming — a key U.S. condition for unlocking much-needed international and Gulf Arab funding to support Lebanon’s reconstruction and economic recovery.

Morcos said while Lebanon has taken “two fundamental unilateral steps” — approving the U.S.-backed disarmament proposal and entrusting its army with extending state authority across all Lebanese territory — Israel has so far shown “no commitment” to the proposal, “nor taken any reciprocal actions.”

He reiterated that Israel “bears clear obligations” under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and the cease-fire agreement, warning that its continued violations “pose serious risks to regional security and stability.”

“Our concerns remain ensuring that the entirety of the country falls under the Army’s authority, advancing reconstruction, stopping Israeli hostilities and addressing the issue of detainees,” Morcos said.

“We continue moving in the same direction … and progressing , without igniting internal division, because such a division would not serve our interests.”

Lebanon, facing mounting pressure from the United States and regional powers to disarm Hezbollah, risks internal divisions and a breakdown in security due to the militant group’s refusal to lay down its arms.

Its decision to set a timeline for Hezbollah disarmament was mainly motivated by the risk of another destructive war with Israel and losing much-needed funds to rebuild its war-devastated regions.

According to The New York Times, U.S officials warned that Lebanon’s leaders are running out of time to disarm Hezbollah at the risk of losing U.S. and Gulf Arab financial support and even seeing a renewed military campaign.

The newspaper reported that the United States, Israel and the Gulf Arab states were pressuring the Lebanese government “to act decisively” and not be intimidated by Hezbollah threats to incite violence.

It quoted one U.S. official as warning that “inaction or half-measures” by Lebanon could lead Congress to cut off roughly $150 million in annual funding for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Other U.S. officials said that the greater risk to Lebanon is that Israel will conclude it must “finish the job” through renewed military campaign that could incur major damage and casualties.

The Hezbollah-Israel war killed or wounded more 21,500 people, displaced more than 1.2 million people and left border villages in southern Lebanon in ruins.

According to the World Bank’s estimate, Lebanon needs $11 billion for reconstruction and economic recovery, while Lebanese officials put it at more than $14 billion.

BEIRUT — A U.S. diplomat apologized Thursday for using the word “animalistic” while calling for a gaggle of reporters to quiet down during a news conference in Lebanon earlier this week.

Tom Barrack, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria and has also been on a temporary assignment in Lebanon, said he didn’t intend to use the word “in a derogatory manner” but that his comments had been “inappropriate.”

Barrack visited Beirut along with a delegation of U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militant group and implementation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah in November.

At the start of a news conference at the presidential palace, journalists shouted at Barrack to move to the podium after he started speaking from another spot in the room. After taking the podium Barrack told the crowd of journalists to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.” He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.

“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack.

The comment sparked an outcry, with the Lebanese press syndicate calling for an apology and calling for a boycott of Barrack’s visits if none was issued. The Presidential Palace also issued a statement expressing regret for the comments made by “one of our guests” and thanking journalists for their “hard work.”

In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on the X platform, an excerpt of which was published Thursday, Barrack said, “Animalistic was a word that I didn’t use in a derogatory manner, I was just saying ‘can we calm down, can we find some tolerance and kindness, let’s be civilized.’ But it was inappropriate to do when the media was just doing their job.”

He added, “I should have been more generous with my time and more tolerant myself.”

Barrack’s visit came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. When, how and in what order the Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal would take place remain in dispute.

The Israeli army on Thursday launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon that it said were targeting “terrorist infrastructure and a rocket platform” belonging to Hezbollah.

Several hours later the Lebanese army announced that two of its soldiers had been killed while investigating an Israeli drone that had crashed in the area of Naqoura on the southern coast, which then exploded. It was not clear why the drone had fallen or what caused the explosion.

Lebanese army says two other personnel wounded after crashed Israeli drone explodes during inspection in Naqoura area.

The Lebanese military says two soldiers have been killed and two wounded as they investigated an Israeli drone crash in southern Lebanon.

The army said the downed Israeli drone exploded on Thursday during an inspection at the crash site in the Naqoura area, not far from Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun offered condolences to the soldiers who were killed and injured, stressing that the military “is paying, in blood, the price of preserving stability in the south” of the country.

The deadly incident came as Israel has been carrying out near-daily attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire reached with Hezbollah in November.

It also coincides with a United Nations Security Council vote to wind down a UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has for decades been tasked with maintaining a buffer between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.

The mandate for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was extended through the end of 2026, but after that, the UN will carry out an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” over the following year.

The resolution aims to make Lebanon’s military “the sole provider of security” in southern Lebanon, a goal complicated by Israel’s continued presence in the country. Both Israel and its top ally, the United States, have been pushing to end the UNIFIL mission.

“The process of withdrawing its 10,800 military and civilian personnel and equipment would start immediately in consultation with the Lebanese government, to be completed within a year,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr explained.

UN Security Council voted unanimously to terminate the UN peacekeeping force in southern #Lebanon at the end of 2026 after nearly five decades, bowing to demands from US and ally Israel. The resolution would terminate UNIFIL’s mandate and halt its operations at the end of 2026.…

— Zeina Khodr (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) August 28, 2025

The US has also been pressuring Lebanon’s government to agree to a plan to disarm Hezbollah – something the Lebanese group has rejected, stressing that such a move will only reward Israel.

On a visit to Beirut on Tuesday, US envoy Tom Barrack said Lebanon had agreed to present a plan aimed at persuading Hezbollah to disarm while Israel would submit a corresponding framework for its military withdrawal from the country.

Barrack said the plan, which is expected to be presented on Sunday, will not involve military coercion but focus on efforts to encourage Hezbollah to surrender its weapons.

A day earlier, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with the ceasefire before talks on a national defence strategy could take place.

“If you truly want sovereignty, then stop the aggression. We will not abandon the weapons that honour us nor the weapons that protect us from our enemy,” Qassem said.

Deadly explosion at weapons depot comes as army has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

At least six Lebanese soldiers have been killed in an explosion as they were inspecting a weapons depot in southern Lebanon, the military has announced.

In a statement on Saturday, the Lebanese army said the unit was dismantling the contents of the depot in the Wadi Zibqin area, in the Tyre region, when the explosion occurred. It said other soldiers were injured but did not specify how many.

“An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident,” the statement said.

The Lebanese army has been working with the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) to dismantle Hezbollah military infrastructure as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel that came into force in November.

The deadly explosion comes as the Lebanese government this week approved United States-backed plans to disarm Hezbollah – a move the Lebanese group has rejected, saying such demands serve Israeli interests.

It also comes just days after Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, said troops had “discovered a vast network of fortified tunnels” in the same area.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq had told reporters that peacekeepers and Lebanese troops found “three bunkers, artillery, rocket launchers, hundreds of explosive shells and rockets, anti-tank mines and about 250 ready-to-use improvised explosive devices”.

🧵 Lebanese army soldiers work alongside @UNIFIL_ peacekeepers every day to restore security and stability to south Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/8s5EkNAdSh

— Diodato Abagnara (@DiodatoAbagnara) August 9, 2025

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a social media post on Saturday that “Lebanon mourns” the soldiers who were killed “while fulfilling their national duty”.

Diodato Abagnara, head of the UNIFIL mission, also expressed condolences to the troops and their families.

“Several dedicated Lebanese soldiers were killed and others injured, simply doing their job to restore stability and avoid a return to open conflict,” Abagnara wrote on X.

“Sincere wishes for a full and fast recovery for the injured. Peacekeepers will continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces and their work to restore stability, however we can.”

Hezbollah has called for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory before any discussion on disarmament.

Hezbollah supporters have gathered in the Lebanese capital to protest against the group’s disarmament ahead of a government cabinet meeting on the issue.

The demonstrations occurred in Beirut on Monday night amid pressure by the United States on Lebanon to get Hezbollah to lay down its arms.

Hezbollah emerged weakened from a war with Israel last year that eliminated most of the group’s leadership, killed thousands of its fighters, and left tens of thousands of its supporters displaced from their destroyed homes.

In recent months, the US and Lebanon have been holding talks on a roadmap for disarmament. Lebanon’s new leadership has pledged to extend its authority across all its territory, but has so far avoided acting against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah supporters protested because they believe disarmament will have implications for their political standing and security, said Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr.

“Hezbollah has made its position clear: it will not disarm because to do so would serve Israel’s interests, not Lebanon’s sovereignty,” said Khodr, reporting from Beirut.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has told the country’s leadership that the group feels blackmailed – that if they don’t disarm, they will not be given funds for reconstruction, she reported.

Ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Hezbollah, through Lebanese MP Ali Fayyad, reiterated its demand that the issues of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory, the release of Lebanese prisoners, and the cessation of hostilities take place before any discussion on disarmament, Lebanon’s National News (NNA) agency reported.

By force?

Lebanon’s political leadership, however, is pushing for the move – even if it may come by force.

“If there is a cost to be able to centralise the weapons with the … Lebanese armed forces, [it may be] better like that,” Elias Hankash, another member of the Lebanese parliament, told Al Jazeera.

“But everything has been done so far … to avoid any clash with Hezbollah.”

The Lebanese army will take on Hezbollah if and when there’s a political decision to disarm the group by force, Khodr said.

“I call on all political parties to approach the issue of arms control with full responsibility,” Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, also stating that the issue of disarmament is sensitive due to sectarian divisions, with consequences for national peace.

In 2008, a government decision to dismantle the group’s telecommunication network led to street violence.

Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani told NNA that the president has set a clear timetable for the disarmament process. He added that the Lebanese army has already taken over hundreds of Hezbollah sites and weapons depots.

Hani stressed that the group is a part of the “Lebanese fabric” and has played a major role in “liberating the land,” but “the next phase requires that the state alone be the decision maker of war and peace”.

Hezbollah was the most powerful military and political actor in Lebanon for years, and while it lost some military capabilities in its conflict last year with Israel, it has not been defeated entirely, Khodr said.

“Hezbollah is still strong in the state because of the monopoly [it has] over Shia representation as well as the appointment of key figures in all of the states,” Mark Daou, another MP, told Al Jazeera.

Lebanon’s political landscape and society have long been divided with differing views on Hezbollah’s role and the need for disarmament.

The issue has dominated Lebanese politics for decades, but there is now a sense of urgency with increasing international pressure – as well as increasing military pressure from Israel, which regularly targets Hezbollah despite the ceasefire between the two since November 2024.

“The government is now expected to formally commit to disarming Hezbollah, a decision that could at the least ignite a political crisis,” said Khodr.

The trailblazing artist, son of legendary Fairuz and composer Assi Rahbani, was also a playwright, pianist and political provocateur.

Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, son of the iconic singer Fairuz and a pioneer of fusion jazz, has died at the age of 69 of a heart attack.

“On Saturday at 9:00am, the heart of the great artist and creator Ziad Rahbani stopped beating,” said a statement from the hospital where he was being treated in the capital, Beirut, on Saturday.

Rahbani influenced generations of Lebanese people with his songs and especially his plays, whose lines are known by heart by both young and old.

He was the son of Fairuz, the last living legend of Arabic song – and one of the most famous Arab women worldwide – and composer Assi Rahbani, who, along with his brother Mansour, modernised Arabic song by blending classical Western, Russian, and Latin American pieces with Middle Eastern rhythms.

“I admire the music of composers like Charlie Parker, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie,” Rahbani once said. “But my music is not Western, it’s Lebanese, with a different way of expression.”

Fairouz also became an icon for young people when Rahbani composed songs for her influenced by jazz rhythms – he called it “oriental jazz”.

Lebanon’s leaders paid a heartfelt tribute to the Lebanese composer, who was also a playwright, pianist and political provocateur.

President Joseph Aoun called Rahbani “a living conscience, a voice that rebelled against injustice, and a sincere mirror of the oppressed and marginalised”.

“Lebanon has lost an exceptional and creative artist, a free voice that remained faithful to the values of justice and dignity” and who said “what many did not dare to say”, said Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Rahbani’s works reflected the hybrid heritage of Lebanon, which, until the civil war erupted in 1975, was a cultural melting pot. It also reflected the ensuing sectarian strife, which involved bloody street battles between rival militias and three years of violent Israeli occupation after the 1982 invasion.

While Fairuz transcended the powerful sectarian divides in the country, her son chose to be resolutely left-wing and secular, denouncing Lebanon’s longstanding divisions. His breakout play, Nazl el-Sourour (Happiness Hotel), premiered in 1974 when he was only 17, portrayed a society disfigured by class inequality and repression.

The play follows a group of workers who take over a restaurant to demand their rights, only to be dismissed by the political elite.

In another play, Bennesbeh Labokra Chou? (What About Tomorrow?), he plays a jaded bar pianist in post-civil war Beirut. The work features some of Rahbani’s most poignant music and biting commentary, including the famous line, “They say tomorrow will be better, but what about today?”

Rahbani was also a composer of staggering range. He infused traditional Arabic melodies with jazz, funk and classical influences, creating a hybrid sound that became instantly recognisable. His live performances were legendary, when he often played piano in smoky clubs in Hamra, one of Beirut’s major commercial districts.

In recent years, Rahbani appeared less in the public eye, but younger generations rediscovered his plays online and sampled his music in protest movements. He continued to compose and write, speaking often of his frustration with Lebanon’s political stagnation and decaying public life.

“I feel like everything is over, I feel like Lebanon has become empty,” wrote Lebanese actress Carmen Lebbos, his former partner, on X.

Rahbani is survived by his mother, now 90, his sister Reema and brother Hali.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah flown to Lebanon from France after incarceration ends.

France has released Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter jailed since 1984, and put him on a flight to Beirut after he spent nearly four decades behind bars.

Shortly before 3:40am (01:30 GMT) on Friday, a convoy of six vehicles with flashing lights was seen leaving the Lannemezan prison in southern France, according to journalists with the AFP news agency on the ground. A source confirmed the 74-year-old had been freed and later boarded a flight to Lebanon.

Abdallah, who was convicted in 1987 for his role in the killings of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris, had long been eligible for release. However, repeated applications were rejected, often due to pressure from the US, which was a civil party in Abdallah’s case.

Last month, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in favour of his release, effective on Friday, on the condition that Abdallah leave French territory and never return.

His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told AFP that the former fighter appeared “very happy” during their final visit “even though he knows he is returning to the Middle East in an extremely tough context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations”.

Abdallah, the founder of the now-defunct Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions, had declared during a recent visit by a lawmaker that he remained a “militant with a struggle”. French police uncovered submachine guns and communication equipment in one of his flats at the time of his arrest.

Abdallah has never expressed regret for his actions and has always insisted he is a “fighter” who has battled for the rights of Palestinians and is not a “criminal”.

The Paris court described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed “no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts”.

The appeals court cited the length of Abdallah’s detention and his advanced age, calling his continued imprisonment “disproportionate”. In France, inmates serving life sentences are typically released after less than 30 years.

Abdallah’s family said they would greet him at Beirut’s airport before travelling to his hometown of Kobayat in northern Lebanon, where a reception has been planned.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah’s prison release on July 25 is conditional: He must leave France and never return. 

A French court has ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for his role in the killings of two foreign diplomats in France in the early 1980s.

The Paris Appeals Court ordered on Thursday that Abdallah, 74, be freed from a prison in southern France on July 25 on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.

The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for complicity in the 1982 murders of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris and the attempted murder of US Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.

First detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987, Abdallah is one of the longest serving prisoners in France as most prisoners serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years.

The detainee’s brother, Robert Abdallah, told the AFP news agency in Lebanon on Thursday that he was overjoyed by the news.

“We’re delighted. I didn’t expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release,” he was quoted as saying. “For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures.”

Abdallah’s lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision: “It’s both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier.”

Abdallah is expected to be deported to Lebanon.

Prosecutors may file an appeal with France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed quickly enough to halt his release next week.

Abdallah has been up for release for 25 years, but the US – a civil party to the case – has consistently opposed his leaving prison. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home to Beirut.

In November, a French court ordered his release on the condition Abdallah leaves France.

But French prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was consequently suspended.

A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris Appeals Court postponed it, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs – something he has consistently refused to do.

The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month.

During the closed-door hearing, Chalanset told the judges that 16,000 euros ($18,535) had been placed in the prisoner’s bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the US.

Abdallah, who has never expressed regret for his actions, has always insisted he is a “fighter” who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a “criminal”.

The Paris court has described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed “no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts”.

Abdallah still enjoys some support from several public figures in France, including left-wing members of parliament and Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, but has mostly been forgotten by the general public.

BEIRUT — A U.S. envoy said Monday he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm the militant Hezbollah group, adding that Washington is ready to help the small nation emerge from its long-running political and economic crisis.

The U.S. envoy to Lebanon, Tom Barrack, spoke to journalists after meeting President Joseph Aoun, saying he will study the government’s seven-page response. Barrack said the American and Lebanese sides are committed “to get a resolution.”

“What the government gave us was something spectacular in a very short period of time and a very complicated manner,” Barrack said during his 20-minute news conference at the presidential palace southeast of Beirut.

His meetings in Lebanon came amid fears that Hezbollah’s refusal to immediately disarm would renew war with Israel after a shaky ceasefire agreement went into effect in November.

Last month, Barrack gave Lebanese officials a proposal that aims to disarm Hezbollah and move on with some economic reforms to try get Lebanon out of its nearly six-year economic crisis, the worst in its modern history. The economic meltdown is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon’s political class.

Barrack said Lebanon should change in the same way Syria has following the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar Assad,who was replaced by a new leadership that is moving ahead with major economic reforms.

Barrack said President Trump and the U.S. are ready to help Lebanon change and “if you don’t want change, it’s no problem. The rest of the region is moving at high speed,” he said.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation. The two sides fought a destructive war in 2006 that ended in a draw.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began a day after the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and intensified in September, leaving the Iran-backed group badly bruised and much of its political and military leadership dead.

Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect in November, Hezbollah has almost ended all its military presence along the border with Israel, which is insisting that the group disarms all over Lebanon. Aoun said Sunday that the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel will increase to 10,000, adding that only Lebanese soldiers and U.N. peacekeepers will be armed on the Lebanese side of the border.

On Sunday night, hours before Barrack arrived in Beirut, Israel’s air force carried out strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, wounding nine people, according to state media. The Israeli army said the airstrikes hit Hezbollah’s infrastructure, arms depots and missile launchers.

Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated the militant group’s refusal to lay down its weapons before Israel withdraws from all of southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes.

The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

Since the November ceasefire, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on different parts of Lebanon, killing about 250 people and injuring over 600. Israel is also still holding five strategic posts inside Lebanon that it refused to withdraw from earlier this year.

Chehayeb and Mroue write for the Associated Press.

Israeli attacks come as residents of Lebanon’s southern districts prepare to vote in municipal elections on Saturday.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has denounced a wave of Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to respect a ceasefire reached in November with Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said on Thursday that the Israeli military struck a building in Toul, a town in the Nabatieh governorate. The army had earlier warned residents to evacuate the area around a building it said was used by Hezbollah.

Lebanese media outlets also reported Israeli bombardment in the towns of Soujod, Touline, Sawanna and the Rihan Mountain – all in the country’s south.

In a statement, Salam’s office said the Israeli attacks come at a “dangerous” time, just days before municipal elections in Lebanon’s southern districts on Saturday.

The contests are expected to be dominated by Hezbollah and its allies, and there have been growing concerns about the safety of voters, especially in border towns, amid the continued Israeli occupation of parts of southern Lebanon.

“Prime Minister Salam stresses that these violations will not thwart the state’s commitment to holding the elections and protecting Lebanon and the Lebanese,” his office said in its statement.

As part of the November ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah fighters were to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle military infrastructure south of that demarcation line.

For its part, Israel was to withdraw all forces from Lebanon but it has kept troops in parts of south Lebanon. It argues it must maintain a presence there for “strategic” reasons.

The truce was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only people to bear arms in southern Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said its forces had carried out several strikes targeting Hezbollah sites and killed one fighter in the southern Lebanon town of Rab el-Thalathine.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the Israeli army’s claim.

Separately, a shepherd was injured in a different Israeli attack nearby, the NNA reported.

The Israeli military said its forces also “struck a Hezbollah military site containing rocket launchers and weapons” in the Bekaa Valley in northeastern Lebanon.

The NNA described Israel’s attacks as some of the heaviest since the ceasefire went into effect.