• Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that Israeli strikes over three days have killed at least 27 people, and injured 69 others in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks killed 4,362 people since March

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed 4,362 people and wounded 12,378 more between March 2 and September 6, the Lebanese Health Ministry says.

The Health Emergency Operations Centre says this brings the total since October 8, 2023, to 8,929 people killed and 30,614 wounded.

Israeli air strike kills three generations of family in southern Lebanon

Three generations of one family have been killed under the rubble of an Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon overnight, with children among the dead – the youngest a two-month-old baby.

Civil defence workers worked through the night and into the morning to pull bodies from the rubble, a painstaking process of clearing collapsed concrete floors. The last two victims, including a child, were found two hours later.

The family had believed they were safe after weeks of reduced violence, but that has since changed. For some, it may mean further displacement. Mustafa, a resident, left his village on the border nearly three years ago.

“My village has been on the front line since late 2023, and now it is occupied by Israel. I don’t know what is next,” he said.

The Israeli army has been trying to seize strategic high ground from Hezbollah for weeks and now says it has “operational control”. It may be trying to establish new rules of engagement in southern Lebanon, intensifying attacks while accusing Hezbollah of launching armed drones at its troops – an accusation the group has not commented on.

A “ceasefire” remains formally in place, but talks have stalled.

Israeli forces shell valleys in southern Lebanon 

Israeli forces have targeted al-Salouqi and al-Hujeir valleys in southern Lebanon in a nighttime artillery shelling, the country’s National News Agency reports.

Israeli forces also opened fire with heavy machineguns towards the forests adjacent to the town of Qabrikha, NNA added.

Iraqi and Lebanese top diplomats discuss regional issues

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has met with his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Rajji, in Cairo on the sidelines of the 166th regular session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, according to a statement by Hussein’s office.

In the meeting, Hussein “stressed the importance of dialogue between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the need to resort to diplomatic means to address differences, in a manner that contributes to reducing tensions and consolidating security and stability in the region”.

Meanwhile, Rajji “expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Republic of Iraq for its continued support for Lebanon, commending Iraq’s positions in support of Lebanon’s security and stability”.

Israeli forces raid southern Lebanon town and raise flag

The Israeli army has raided the town of Kfarchouba in southern Lebanon at dawn and raised the Israeli flag on one of the hills, according to the Lebanon 24 news outlet.

This comes after Israeli forces hit al-Salouqi and al-Hujeir valleys in southern Lebanon with artillery shelling overnight.

Israel has increasingly entrenched its military presence across southern Lebanon through fortified positions, expanding buffer zones and demolitions, with repeated incursions into border villages such as Kfarchouba.

US-Israel war on Iran, six months down the line: In numbers

More than six months ago, the United States and Israel launched their first strikes of on Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran and hitting nuclear and military sites around the country.

Those attacks prompted Iran to begin strikes on US military assets and infrastructure in Gulf countries – and for the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, to fire rockets into northern Israel, prompting near-daily Israeli attacks since then and, at one point, the occupation of one-fifth of Lebanon.

Neither side has gained the upper hand since. Iran has used its control of the Strait of Hormuz to squeeze Washington and global energy markets, and the conflict has settled into a deadlock, which months of negotiation have not broken.

The first six months of the war, from the numbers killed and displaced to the shock suffered by the global economy, the key numbers are:

• At least 7,900 people killed, most of them from Iran and Lebanon
• More than 5,500 attacks
• From 100 ships each day transiting the Strait of Hormuz down to just seven now
• At least 18 US security personnel killed.

Lebanese army says forces deployed in all non-occupied parts of southern Lebanon

The Lebanese army has said its units are deployed in all parts of the country’s south that are not under Israeli occupation, including in the Nabatieh region.

The army added that its forces have “intensified operations in several areas to reassure residents”.

Israel has continued to carry out attacks in parts of southern Lebanon despite a framework deal agreed by Israel and Lebanon in June. That plan includes “pilot zones” that are meant to act as test areas for the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah and for the Israelis to withdraw.

However, Israel still occupies dozens of villages in southern Lebanon and has resisted further withdrawals, according to our reporters on the ground.

Israeli air raids hit southern Lebanon’s Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Nabatieh al-Fawqa: Lebanese state media

Israeli forces have carried out several air attacks in southern Lebanon, including in the towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Israeli warplanes carried out a “large” attack on Zawtar al-Sharqiyah while hitting Nabatieh al-Fawqa twice in the span of an hour, the state-run news agency reported.

Artillery attacks also took place in the towns of Srobbin and Kfar Reman, said the agency.

UN chief condemns ‘mounting civilian casualties’ in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over an escalation in Israeli military attacks in southern Lebanon, and condemned the “mounting civilian casualties, including women and children”, according to a statement.

The United Nations chief is quoted as saying he is alarmed by reported Israeli strikes affecting hospitals, healthcare workers and public institutions, as well as restrictions on humanitarian access.

Guterres said that “civilians and civilian objects must be protected at all times, and attacks directed against them are unacceptable”.

He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.

Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon have killed at least 27 people over the past three days, according to the Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said it struck several Hezbollah infrastructure sites after the group’s fighters launched explosive drones towards Israeli troops operating in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon.