Israeli Troops Advance Near Kfar Tebnit, Forcing Lebanese Army Withdrawal

The Lebanese army withdrew its troops from a base in Kfar Tebnit after Israeli troops advanced nearby, a military official said, as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for about 20 locations including Nabatiyeh and nearby villages.

“Toggle Play Israel attacks Lebanon despite being included in potential peace deal Israel has continued to attack Lebanon, despite Iran saying it was included in a potential memorandum of understanding with the US”

Al Jazeera

NBC News reported that Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said airstrikes hit different villages near Nabatiyeh on Saturday, including one that killed two people in Deir al-Zahrani, and that Nabatiyeh was subjected to artillery shelling on Saturday.

Al Jazeera

A senior Lebanese military official told The Associated Press that the Lebanese army moved its forces from the Kfar Tebnit barracks following an incursion by Israeli forces into the area.

The NBC News account said Israeli troops were likely trying to capture the strategic Ali Taher hill on the edge of Kfar Tebnit that overlooks large parts of Nabatiyeh and some of the roads that link the city with nearby villages.

NBC News added that the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on Iran, and that more than 3,700 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

As Israel carried out air strikes in the south of Lebanon after ordering people to leave about 20 locations, BBC reported that at least one person was killed following a strike on the town of Marrakeh in Lebanon's Tyre district, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

BBC also said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, mediating talks between the US and Iran, wrote on X that "we are closer to a peace deal than ever before" and added that finalisation was "likely expected in the next 24 hours".

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC account said Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV the agreement envisages an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that the deal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade of Iran.

In a separate thread, Al Jazeera said Israel has continued to attack Lebanon despite Iran saying it was included in a potential memorandum of understanding with the US, and that fresh forced displacement orders were issued on Saturday morning following Israeli bombardment throughout Friday night on towns and villages in the south.

Al Jazeera’s framing came as it described the ongoing bombardment and displacement orders continuing even while the US side discussed a potential deal timeline.

The NBC News report said Israel continues to occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon while battling Hezbollah fighters, causing civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, and it noted that Hezbollah is not part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

“Israel carries out air strikes on Lebanon, state media says, as Iran claims deal with US near Israel has carried out air strikes in the south of Lebanon after ordering people to leave about 20 locations, Lebanese state media has said”

BBC

NBC News also stated that Hezbollah has launched frequent rocket and drone attacks and that the deal has been renewed several times but remains a ceasefire in name only, keeping the conflict’s operational tempo high.

France 24 reported that Iran warned Lebanon must be included in ceasefire negotiations, citing Reuters that Iran told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement and linking the end of the war to an Israeli halt to the offensive against Hezbollah.

France 24 also quoted Iran’s foreign minister saying on Wednesday that Iran has no intention of negotiating despite a White House warning that Donald Trump would unleash hell if Tehran did not accept a deal to end the war.

In the same NBC News context of ongoing fighting, the report said 30 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.