Once again, Israeli troops enter southern border towns and detonate houses

Israeli troops advanced Thursday at dawn into al-Nouriyeh neighborhood in central Kafr Kila, where they blew up a building.

Another force had pushed into the southern border town of Odaisseh overnight, demolishing another two houses on the outskirts of the town.

On Wednesday, Israeli drones dropped stun grenades near Ayta al-Shaab's cemetery in south Lebanon as the border village prepared to burry a man killed two days ago by Israeli gunfire.

An Israeli infantry force later entered the outskirts of the town, as the Lebanese Army arrived at the location to escort and secure the funeral procession.

Despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024, the Israeli army kept up its strikes on south and east Lebanon, and is still occupying five hills it deems "strategic" in south Lebanon. Troops frequently cross into Lebanese territories, detonate houses, and sometimes kill or abduct people.

On Monday, Israeli forces seized a local official with the Jamaa Islamiya group in the southern village of Hebbarieh, in the region of Hasbaya near the border, and took him to Israel for questioning.

In October 2025, Israeli troops stormed a municipality and killed a Lebanese municipal worker during a raid on the southern border village of Blida.

Mayor of Ayta al-Shaab, Ahmad Srour, said that more than 10 grenades were dropped on the town, as Merkava tanks approached toward it. He said the grenades and the incursions prevented residents from attending the funeral, and accused Israel of clearly trying to displace the remaining residents of Ayta al-Shaab.

In addition to the stun grenades and the incursions, Israeli troops have bulldozed lands along the border and sprayed them with toxic chemicals, cutting off the villagers' livelihoods.

Srour told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that less than 52 people now live in the town out of around 15,000 residents. Those who remained are the most vulnerable, he said -- the poor, the elderly, and the sick who can't leave.

"There is a Lebanese Army post in Ayta al-Shaab, and UNIFIL patrols are permanently here, but Israel doesn't care and continues its policy of displacement, imposing a fait accompli on the ground," Srour said.