Beirut, Sept. 3 (SANA) Israeli occupation forces advanced into southern Lebanon on Thursday, surrounding homes in the town of Halta and shelling several areas despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
An Israeli force entered Halta in the Hasbaya district, where troops surrounded several homes and prevented residents from leaving, NNA said.
Israeli artillery also fired several shells toward the Litani River and shelled al-Mansouri in the Tyre district as Israeli military vehicles moved inside the town. An Israeli drone dropped two sound bombs on the al-Azziyeh-al-Mansouri road.
Israeli forces also carried out explosions in Hadatha, Wadi Baraachit, Kfar Tibnit and Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, while Israeli drones were seen flying over the Tyre area.
The developments come days after one person was killed and another injured when a cluster munition left behind by previous Israeli attacks exploded in the southern province of Nabatieh on Monday.
The latest escalation comes despite a ceasefire agreement reached in June under U.S. mediation and a framework agreement calling for the disarmament of armed groups outside the authority of the Lebanese state, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas they entered in southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army, beginning in two pilot areas.
R.A/ABD
