Bint Jbeil and surrounding areas in southern Lebanon are witnessing a sharp military escalation, with intensified Israeli airstrikes and ground operations unfolding amid reported attempts to assert control over the strategic town. 

Across southern Lebanon, a wave of heavy Israeli airstrikes struck multiple locations, including the coastal towns of Mansouri and Bafliyeh south of Tyre, as well as areas around Khallet Khazem–Rihan, Sajd, and Srifa.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said five people were killed and 25 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Qana, in the country’s south.

Earlier strikes hit Breikha in the Marjayoun district, while a three-storey building in Zrarieh was also targeted, with casualties reported.

On the ground, Bint Jbeil saw heavy clashes between advancing Israeli forces and members of the outlawed Hezbollah militia, particularly along the Tyray axis near Saf al-Hawa roundabout, and in the Aynata–Bint Jbeil–Aytaroun triangle near the vocational institute and the Tahrir complex. The fighting unfolded alongside continued air raids and artillery fire, including the use of phosphorus munitions, according to local reports.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Air Force continues to drop dozens of heavy munitions on Bint Jbeil, describing the campaign as an effort to “decide control of the town.”

The paper added that Bint Jbeil carries symbolic importance for Hezbollah since the Second Lebanon War, and said the current operation aims to encircle the town and carry out sustained long-range strikes using heavy firepower and technological superiority.

In parallel, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that ground forces have launched an incursion into the town following several days of encirclement, estimating that dozens of Hezbollah fighters are trapped inside and that resistance is expected.

The channel also said the Israeli military has reinforced its northern deployment ahead of anticipated talks between Lebanon and Israel expected to begin on Tuesday, adding that troops entered Bint Jbeil within the past 24 hours.

Military assessments cited by Israeli media suggest the operation to fully seize the town could last several days due to expected continued resistance.

Additional Israeli airstrikes targeted Shehabiyeh, an agricultural structure between Hebbariyeh and Shebaa, and the town of Bazouriyeh in the Tyre district, which was hit in a heavy raid.

In Qlayleh, interceptor missile debris reportedly fell between residential buildings, raising concern among local residents.

According to reports cited by Voice of Lebanon, Israeli forces detonated seven newly rigged houses in Dibel after planting explosives inside them. The homes reportedly belonged to members of the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces, bringing the total number of destroyed houses in the town to 18.

A separate drone strike hit a motorcycle on the road between Hay al-Thakneh and the public housing area in Tyre, with reports of injuries.

Early Sunday, Israeli warplanes also struck Breyqaa in the Nabatiyeh district, causing additional injuries. Since midnight Saturday, successive air raids have targeted Sirbine, Hariss (twice), Kfarra, and Khirbet Selm in the Bint Jbeil district.

Further strikes hit the outskirts of Mazraat Halta near Kfarchouba, as well as the road linking Shebaa and Hebbariyeh, reportedly severing the route.

Two consecutive airstrikes destroyed a home in Shebaa, accompanied by overnight artillery shelling on surrounding areas and heavy machine-gun fire from a radar position.

In Marwahine, an airstrike on a residential house reportedly hit a family of more than seven people, with casualties reported.

On the Israeli side, a military spokesperson said on X that forces identified a loaded rocket launcher in the Jwayya area of southern Lebanon during the night and struck it in what he described as a rapid “closing of the loop” operation before it could be used against Israel.

Separately, the Israeli army has expanded its ground operations across southern Lebanon, where five divisions—the 98th, 36th, 146th, 162nd, and 91st—are reportedly working to consolidate control in the area.

Hezbollah, for its part, said it targeted Israeli vehicles and troops on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil with rocket fire, and claimed it struck a Merkava tank near Al-Ishraq School with a guided missile, saying the attack achieved direct hits.