Israeli forces conducted a major series of airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday, targeting numerous towns and villages in a significant escalation that violates the ongoing ceasefire agreement.

The aggressive campaign, which included successive waves of raids by warplanes and attacks by drones, resulted in multiple casualties and raised fears of a further spiraling conflict.

According to local sources and correspondents on the ground, the strikes were widespread. In the eastern Bekaa region, highland areas surrounding the towns of Tarayya and Shmestar were hit. Simultaneously, in the south, Israeli warplanes carried out raids on the Jabal al-Rafee area, the outskirts of Sojod, and the al-Naqra valley near Kfar Hamam.

Further airstrikes targeted wooded highlands in Iqlim al-Tuffah, including the areas of al-Jarmaq, al-Mahmoudiya, and Kfar Hamam. The al-Jabbour area was also attacked. The scale of the assault was confirmed by concurrent reports in Israeli media, which stated the country's Air Force was conducting a wave of airstrikes in the Bekaa and Nabatieh regions.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported several casualties from the day's attacks. One person was killed when an Israeli drone targeted a car on a side road between Majdal Selm and Shaqra. The victim was later identified as a member of Houla's municipal council.

Earlier in the day, another individual was killed in an Israeli strike on his car in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya in the Nabatieh district. Furthermore, the Health Ministry reported that five civilians were wounded in the town of Shaqra by a sonic bomb dropped by an Israeli drone.

The attacks continued into the evening, with an Israeli quadcopter dropping a stun grenade on the town of Maroun al-Ras.

This latest aggression follows a pattern of deadly strikes over recent days. On Friday night, one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car near the town of Froun.

These incidents are part of a continuing pattern of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, constituting a clear breach of the ceasefire agreement reached on November 27, 2024.

The spiral of violence has intensified over the past week. On November 19, Israeli forces issued evacuation warnings to residents of several southern Lebanese villages before carrying out strikes. In a severe escalation on November 18, an Israeli attack on the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida left 14 civilians dead.

Earlier that same day, separate Israeli drone strikes targeted and destroyed vehicles in the towns of Blida and Bint Jbeil, killing one civilian in each attack.

The conflict has also seen targeting beyond militant positions. On November 17, Mohammad Shuweikh, the principal of the Mansouri Public School, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Furthermore, the UN's peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that on November 16, an Israeli Merkava tank fired on its personnel near a position inside Lebanese territory.

This sustained campaign of airstrikes and drone attacks marks one of the most significant escalations since the ceasefire was established, severely undermining the truce and threatening to plunge the region into a broader confrontation. (ILKHA)