In tandem with Rome negotiations: 4 injured in Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon

Four people were injured early Thursday in a wide-scale Israeli escalation in the Sidon District of southern Lebanon, coinciding with the third and final day of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Italy. The Lebanese News Agency reported that Israeli drones launched three strikes on the Al-Malab neighborhood in the town of Al-Burj al-Shamali, followed by a fourth strike by Israeli warplanes on the same site, resulting in the injury of four people who were transported to hospitals in Sidon city. Al-Burj al-Shamali is located approximately 5 kilometers from Sidon, the district center. The agency noted that displacement movements were recorded from the town toward Sidon, while units of the Lebanese Army and ambulance teams entered the strike site to conduct a field survey and confirm that no other injured or trapped individuals remained. Israeli warplanes also launched three strikes on the town of Mansouriya and Al-Musha’at, located between Mansouriya and Majdal Zoun, coinciding with artillery shelling and machine-gun fire from tanks directed at Mansouriya. The Israeli army continued its artillery bombardment from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning, targeting the towns of Mansouriya and Majdal Zoun and the surrounding valleys, before expanding early Thursday to the vicinity of Haddatha town, while its forces fired machine guns toward the coastal area of Al-Hamra in Bayt al-Siyad. This escalation coincides with the third and final day of the seventh round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Rome, which is examining mechanisms for implementing a ceasefire agreement, completing the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and enhancing the deployment of the Lebanese Army in border areas. Prior to Rome hosting the second round, five previous rounds were held in Washington, under a US-led track. Despite reaching a ceasefire agreement on April 16 last year, Israel has continued its aggression against Lebanon, which began on March 2 last year, resulting in the deaths of 4,333 people and injuries to 12,250 others. The agreement stipulates a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese Army, alongside the disarmament of armed groups, referring to Hezbollah. Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the previous war between 2023 and 2024, while during the current aggression, it has advanced more than 10 kilometers.