Israeli advances in the border town of Khiam and the coastal village of Naqoura triggered fierce clashes with Hezbollah, which said its fighters battled Israeli forces for four hours in central Khiam, as sustained Israeli shelling pounded the surrounding areas and one-way attack drones entered the fight.

The Israeli push toward the outskirts of Bint Jbeil and the Litani River from the Maroun al-Ras and Taybeh axes slowed, with fighting shifting to Khiam, where Israeli forces are seeking full control after advancing on the western axis facing the Marjayoun plain, the third stage of an offensive toward northern Khiam.

The battle for Khiam

Battlefield sources in Marjayoun told Asharq Al-Awsat that fighting erupted with light and medium machine guns, in one of the rare instances in which such intense clashes have been heard so clearly in the area. Explosions were followed by thick smoke rising over central and western Khiam.

Clashes focused on the Jallahiya neighborhood, one of the last high ground positions in northwestern Khiam and a key link between the city’s center and its eastern and western sectors. Israeli tanks had reached the area days earlier before withdrawing, in what observers described as a probing move to test Hezbollah’s defenses.

The latest incursion followed four days of airstrikes targeting northern and eastern neighborhoods, alongside relentless artillery fire, paving the way for the advance.

Hezbollah said its fighters engaged Israeli forces at close range in Khiam using light and medium weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, with clashes lasting four hours. The group’s media described the fighting as direct contact with enemy forces. It also said the heaviest battles took place in Jallahiya and the city’s eastern quarter.

Rocket fire was reported to target Israeli troop concentrations near the Khiam detention center and the eastern quarter, as well as strikes on the Hadabat al-Ajl site north of Kfar Yuval and two other gatherings in Metula.

A powerful Israeli blast later shook Khiam, shattering shop windows in the nearby town of Qlayaa.

The battle for Naqoura

On the Naqoura coastal axis in southwestern Lebanon, clashes broke out for the first time since the war began on March 2, as Israeli forces advanced from two directions.

One push came from the seafront, an area local sources described as militarily exposed. The other came from the east, expanding from the Labouneh heights and the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, which Israel pressed Lebanon to fully evacuate last week.

Sources said the advance was relatively easy due to the area’s uninhabited nature, extensive destruction from previous fighting, and subsequent clearing operations by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers under the mechanism.

A large stretch between the sea and Alma al-Shaab now functions as a security zone, hosting the main headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force.

They said the first line of defense has shifted to populated parts of Naqoura, where fighting erupted on Saturday. While Israel’s military has not announced operations there, Hezbollah media said its fighters were confronting Israeli attempts to advance toward the town.

Local media reported clashes on Naqoura’s outskirts from the directions of Alma al-Shaab and Labouneh.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli soldiers east of Naqoura with rocket barrages and artillery, and that its fighters clashed with a force attempting to infiltrate from the Tabbasin area toward the municipal building using light and medium weapons.

Sustained bombardment

Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs before dawn on Saturday after a two-day lull, following a broad evacuation warning. Two buildings were targeted in Burj al-Barajneh and Ghobeiry.

Israeli bombardment continued across southern Lebanon, hitting the outskirts of Ghandooriyeh, Tayri, Bint Jbeil, Deir Seryan, Mansouri, Jabal al-Rayhan, Shaaitiyeh, areas between Bazouriyeh and Burj al-Shamali, and Haniyeh and Hamoul east of Naqoura. A house in Zawtar al-Sharqiya was also destroyed.

Artillery fire struck Naqoura, Hamoul, Khiam, Taybeh, Markaba, Houla, Shaqra, Burj Qalaouiyeh, Ghandooriyeh, and the Qleileh plain south of Tyre.

Before dawn, Israeli warplanes carried out a heavy strike on a house in Kafra in the Bint Jbeil district, Lebanon’s state news agency said.