Lebanon · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Israel Strikes Ali al-Taher Ridge as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun Visits Nabatieh
Israel destroyed Hezbollah tunnels beneath Ali al-Tahir ridge, triggering massive explosions near Nabatieh. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun conducted an unscheduled visit to Nabatieh amid escalation.
Whether Aoun halted negotiations or just delayed them.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: hezbollah fighters and Israel failed to reach an arrangement on Ali al-Taher.
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Al Jazeera
“confirmed that “there will be no new negotiations with Israel at the moment.”Read the original ↗
Al Jazeera stresses Aoun’s talks freeze, while Naharnet frames only a postponement until October.
Aoun visits Nabatieh
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited Nabatieh on Saturday morning in a surprise trip to the country’s south, accompanied by Army chief General Rodolphe Haykal and senior security officials, as Israeli forces stepped up attacks again in the Nabatieh region.
“President Joseph Aoun visited the country's south on Saturday morning”
Naharnet said the visit came a day after a senior U.S. diplomatic official said a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, initially scheduled for next week, had been pushed back to October.N
In Nabatieh, Aoun expressed solidarity with locals who greeted him and praised staff at Nabatieh Governmental Hospital for risking their lives to provide medical services in an area where most people have fled.
The same reporting tied the renewed pressure to Israeli actions including the Thursday blast on the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, which lies a few kilometers from Nabatieh city and was large enough to trigger a tremor detected by seismic monitoring agencies.
Israeli strikes in the area have killed at least 29 people in the last few days, including 12 members of the same family, and the Lebanese Army warned on Wednesday that Israel’s actions threatened the implementation of the framework agreement.
Talks paused, blasts continue
Al Jazeera reported that the next round of United States-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon has been postponed as Israeli forces continue to strike and demolish buildings across southern Lebanon.A
In Nabatieh, Aoun confirmed “there will be no new negotiations with Israel at the moment,” while also saying “Withdrawal, the return of prisoners and displaced people, and reconstruction are national principles that we pledge to implement,” according to the Al Jazeera account.A
Al Jazeera added that an AFP quote of an unnamed U.S. official said the next round of talks scheduled for this month in Rome would not happen until October, and that the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors would instead meet at the Department of State next week to discuss continued implementation of the June framework agreement.A
The same Al Jazeera reporting said Israeli forces detonated 1,100 tonnes of explosives at what they claimed was a Hezbollah central command complex built into the Ali al-Taher Ridge, causing tremors throughout surrounding areas in southern Lebanon.A
It also said Israeli attacks in the area have killed at least 29 people in the last two weeks, including 12 members of the same family in an air raid on Kfar Ramman, which neighbours Nabatieh.
What comes next
As the Ali al-Taher demolition left Nabatieh residents wondering what comes next, Asharq Al-Awsat said Israel’s demolition of two tunnels extending two kilometers through Ali al-Taher ridge brought movement in south Lebanon’s Nabatieh city to a standstill and deepened fears over what comes next.
“Israel’s demolition of two tunnels extending two kilometers”
The same report quoted Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz saying Israel was ready to press ahead with its campaign and continue striking Hezbollah and other sites, while it also described a U.S. Geological Survey magnitude 4.1 seismic event in southern Lebanon.
Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Lebanon’s National Center for Geophysics said ground waves were detected at 9:08 p.m. on Thursday by all its monitoring stations and that the waves “resulted from the explosion carried out by the Israeli enemy in the Ali al-Taher area.”
The report also said residents feared the fighting could spread toward Nabatieh following the demolition of Ali al-Taher, with one resident telling Asharq Al-Awsat, “No one can guarantee what will happen,” and adding that “The Israeli statements are alarming.”
Separately, the Lebanese government sought to help returning residents, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam receiving a delegation from the municipality of Kfar Rumman and saying the Council for Development and Reconstruction would soon begin implementing projects after completing preparatory procedures.