Lebanese army fortifies southern positions after Israeli fire, as drone strike hits Nabatieh outskirts

The Lebanese army continued on Thursday to reinforce its positions in southern Lebanon after coming under Israeli fire earlier this week, as an Israeli drone carried out a separate missile strike near the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa despite the November 2024 ceasefire.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that the army "is completing defensive measures" in the Sarda area of the Marjayoun district, installing metal fencing alongside an earthen berm it had raised along a route frequently used for Israeli incursions from the Al-Hamamis hill.

On Wednesday, the army fortified two positions in Sarda by building additional earth mounds.

Lebanese forces were fired upon from the Israeli side on Tuesday in what Israel described as "warning shots" aimed at preventing the establishment of a new military post near the border.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Lebanese army said the vicinity of a newly established observation point in Sarda-Marjayoun came under Israeli gunfire, coinciding with a low-flying Israeli drone that issued threats toward soldiers.

Separately on Thursday, an Israeli drone carried out a strike with a guided missile targeting the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon.

NNA said the missile hit a wooded area known as Ali al-Taher on the northeastern edge of the town in the Nabatieh governorate. Ambulances were dispatched to the site.

There was no immediate information on casualties.

The latest attack came amid repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024, killing and wounding hundreds of Lebanese. Israel continues to occupy five Lebanese hilltops seized during the latest war, in addition to other Lebanese areas it has held for decades.