Israeli warplanes struck several areas in southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, targeting the towns of Al-Kharayib and Kautariyat Al-Razz (Sidon district), a valley area between Zarariyah (Sidon district) and Ansar town (Nabatieh district), as well as the border town of Shebaa (Hasbaya district).

The Lebanese News Agency reported that civil defense teams rescued an injured person in Al-Kharayib and began clearing rubble following reports of two people trapped under debris.

The agency added that a house was directly hit in the “Shaab Al-Qalb” area on the outskirts of Shebaa town, while local media confirmed at least one death in the attack.

These airstrikes came just two hours after a Lebanese citizen was killed in an Israeli drone attack targeting a car in the southern town of Yater.

Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “The army attacked a site used by Hezbollah for reconstruction in southern Lebanon,” adding that “Air Force jets struck a site producing means supporting Hezbollah’s reconstruction efforts.”

He continued: “The presence of Hezbollah’s production site in the area violates understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces will continue to act to remove any threat against the State of Israel.”

In a related context, Hezbollah MPs in the Lebanese parliament (the bloc known as “Loyalty to the Resistance”) held their regular meeting chaired by MP Mohammad Raad, issuing a statement saying: “The successive positions of the enemy’s leaders and their American supporters prove their determination not to implement any commitment of their agreement with the Lebanese state, whether to stop hostilities or withdraw from occupied points.”

The statement added: “These positions also prove that the enemy is committed to blackmailing any measure taken by the Lebanese government, even if within the framework of its approval of the American paper to limit weapons, known as the Tom Barrack paper (..) who gave Israel the green light to do as it pleases, wherever and whenever it wants, defending its entity, security, and interests.”

It continued: “In light of all this, it is necessary to defend Lebanon and preserve national sovereignty by reconsidering the authority’s calculations and stopping free concessions to the enemy.”

This comes amid external and local anticipation of the government’s session next Friday, during which Army Commander Rudolf Heikal is scheduled to present his plan to disarm Hezbollah, under American pressure to take concrete steps.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar revealed tensions between the political and military levels over the file, claiming that Heikal had informed “those concerned” that he preferred to resign if the goal was “to shed Lebanese blood at the hands of the army.”

Although the army issued a statement calling on the media to avoid discussing military affairs or “speculating about its decisions,” stressing the need to refer to its official statements, it did not fully deny what the newspaper reported.

Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, in a speech on the occasion of the disappearance anniversary of Musa Al-Sadr, affirmed that “it is not permissible to throw the fireball into the lap of the Lebanese army,” noting that Lebanon has fulfilled what was requested in the ceasefire agreement, and that what the Americans propose is an alternative version of Resolution 1701.

In this context, some observers believe Washington is waiting for “tangible” results from the Lebanese government in the ministerial session, threatening to withdraw from mediation and “let Israel act.”

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar revealed that ministers from the Amal Movement and Hezbollah (the so-called Shiite duo) will not boycott Friday’s session to review Heikal’s presentation, but they expect him to “respond to some points raised for discussion in the coming hours, so that appropriate decisions can be made.”