The Voice of Ummah: Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday morning on the southern Lebanese towns of al-Qantara, al-Ghandouriyeh and Kfar Tebnit, while artillery shelled al-Mansouri, Zawtar al-Sharqiya and the outskirts of Shaqra and Majdal Silm. A correspondent for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel said the bombardment hit several towns across the south. MTV Lebanon reported that the strike on Qantara came at around 6 a.m., that artillery hit Mansouri, Majdal Zoun and Wadi Zebqine at dawn, that heavy machine-gun fire was opened toward the outskirts of Shaqra, and that drones continued to fly over the Tyre area while warplanes circled southern Lebanon.
The attacks came as UN peacekeepers said they had observed what appeared to be preparations for a sustained Israeli military presence in the south.
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UNIFIL confirmation in south Lebanon: roads, engineering and barriers
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Monday that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon had recorded Israeli military activity across its area of operations from Thursday through Sunday, including drone operations, engineering work and road construction. Peacekeepers logged three Israeli airstrikes on Thursday and three more on Sunday, as well as 360 artillery trajectories over the four days, which affected several communities in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL also observed what appeared to be preparations for a sustained presence in both its eastern and western sectors. According to Haq, gates and physical barriers continued to obstruct peacekeepers’ movements, particularly in the east, and Israeli soldiers and tanks restricted travel in both directions near al-Bayyada on Friday. UNIFIL is due to cease operations on 31 December under a Security Council decision, raising concern over the security arrangements that will follow.
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