Hezbollah reports fresh clashes as Raad says no need for direct negotiations

Hezbollah announced on Thursday that its fighters were engaged in renewed clashes with the Israeli military, following reports from Lebanese state media of Israeli strikes in the south that killed three people. These hostilities persist despite a recent agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon.

The Iran-backed militant group stated that its forces confronted an Israeli army unit attempting to advance near the town of Arnoun, close to Nabatieh. Hezbollah reported that the clashes were ongoing in the late afternoon. The group had previously stated it drew Lebanon into the conflict in March, retaliating for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, which led to Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon.

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The clashes are still ongoing.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a car in the Kfar Tibnit area, resulting in two deaths. Another drone strike in the neighboring village of Zebdine killed one person. Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed the death of one of its soldiers the previous night in an incident in southern Lebanon that also wounded seven others. UN peacekeepers in Lebanon also reported exchanges of fire, with a spokesperson noting the observation of numerous projectile trajectories attributed to both the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah.

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So far today, 143 trajectories of projectiles were observed. Of these, 119 were attributed to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with the remainder to Hezbollah. Yesterday, 364 projectile launches were observed, of which 330 were attributed to the IDF and 34 to Hezbollah.

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah claimed its fighters had repelled a four-day Israeli offensive in the strategic Ali al-Taher hills area, which is believed to house significant Hezbollah military infrastructure. The group asserted it attacked Israeli troops and tanks with drones, rockets, and artillery, forcing a retreat under cover of smoke and artillery fire.

Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, declared that Israel's war in Lebanon had failed to dismantle the group. He urged Lebanese authorities to establish a framework for indirect negotiations with Israel to halt the fighting. Raad stipulated that Israel must fully comply with a cessation of hostilities across land, sea, and air, and prepare for a withdrawal within 60 days, without the necessity of direct negotiations. The Israeli military, however, indicated its intention to continue operations in southern Lebanon.

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The Israeli military must "fully comply with the cessation of hostilities on land, at sea and in the air, and prepare for and begin withdrawal within 60 days, without any need whatsoever for direct negotiations".