Israeli drone strike injures four in Khiam, South Lebanon
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Israeli occupation forces escalate attacks on Lebanon, wounding civilians and violating the ceasefire despite US envoy talks in Beirut.
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Arabic graffiti on the wall of a shop destroyed by the Israeli air and ground offensive reads, in the town of Khiam, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025 (AP)
Israeli occupation forces continue to rain attacks on Lebanon with impunity, flagrantly violating the ceasefire, even as US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.
No diplomatic engagement or international scrutiny seems to halt "Israel’s" strikes, which persist alongside discussions of Hezbollah’s weapons and Lebanon’s cabinet decisions, underscoring the fragile security situation in the country.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that four Syrian nationals were wounded after an Israeli drone targeted the town of Khiam in the Marj'youn district of southern Lebanon.
In the southern town of Ramyah, local sources said an Israeli drone chased Lebanese citizens before dropping a stun grenade on them.
توثيق ملاحقة مسيرات الاحتلال للأهالي في بلدة راميا جنوب لبنان واستهدافهم بقنابل الصوت. pic.twitter.com/HZGcWUT5Vw
— Ola Alaa (@OlaAlaa2771984) August 18, 2025
Earlier in the day, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that invading Israeli units advanced into the eastern area of Mays al-Jabal, detonating a damaged house. The Israeli forces also fired illumination bombs over Roueissat al-Alam in the Kfar Chouba Heights.
Israeli drone strike injures two in southern Lebanon's Aitaroun
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported last Thursday that an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the southern Lebanese town of Aitaroun, injuring two people, a woman and a municipal police officer.
According to the correspondent, the drone fired two missiles during the strike.
Since the ceasefire began on November 27, 2024, "Israel" has violated Lebanon's sovereignty over 3,500 times, yet the Lebanese government has simultaneously ramped up pressure to disarm the Resistance.
Under intense US backing, the government has tasked the Lebanese Army with formulating a plan to centralize arms under state control by year-end and recently approved the objectives of a US-backed roadmap to disarm Hezbollah.
Resistance won’t give up arms, gov. decision dangerous: Sheikh Qassem
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem strongly slammed the Lebanese government’s August 5 decision during a ceremony in Baalbek marking the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein, saying it strips Lebanon of its defensive capabilities amid ongoing hostilities and facilitates the killing of Resistance fighters and their families.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on August 5 that the Cabinet has formally assigned the Lebanese Army to draft a comprehensive plan aimed at consolidating arms under state control by the end of 2025. The army is expected to submit the plan for Cabinet review no later than August 31.
The decision followed a tense and extended Cabinet meeting held at the presidential palace in Baabda, chaired by President Joseph Aoun. More than three hours of the session were devoted to the highly sensitive agenda item concerning the consolidation of arms under the state’s authority, a topic that continues to fuel deep political divides within the Lebanese government.
Sheikh Qassem described the decision as “dangerous” and a violation of Lebanon’s social cohesion, warning that it “exposes the country to a very serious crisis.”
He accused the government of carrying out “a US-Israeli scheme to dismantle the resistance, even at the cost of plunging Lebanon into civil war and fueling internal strife.”
"This government is serving the Israeli project, knowingly or not," he declared, addressing officials directly, "If you feel helpless, let us face the enemy ourselves. We don’t need you to engage."
Furthermore, the Resistance leader stressed that the government’s duty “is not to surrender the country to the enemy or to unchecked American hegemony,” questioning officials, "How can you, as a government, facilitate the killing of your own citizens?"
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sheikh Qassem also referenced Israeli expansionist ambitions, "Have you heard of Netanyahu’s plan to establish a ‘Greater Israel’? What can you say about this? What are you doing about it?"
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” vision, reiterated recently, claims territorial reach into Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, constituting an attack on the sovereignty of Arab states and a clear violation of international law.
