Israel is laying the groundwork for a prolonged military presence in southern Lebanon, preparing fortified positions and access roads while expanding its fire zone deeper into Lebanese territory, according to Israeli media and local sources in the south.

The measures include the construction and preparation of military positions and logistical infrastructure, as well as the expansion of areas being cleared of residents north of what Israel calls the “Yellow Line.”

Israeli forces have also expanded strikes into areas farther from the border, including Wadi Zibqin in the western sector and the outskirts of Mayfadoun in the east, according to local sources.

The sources said the expansion was creating a wider area in which residents were being driven out or prevented from returning, through machine-gun fire, artillery shelling, airstrikes and persistent drone activity.

The developments come as the Israeli military faces operational challenges from explosive drones guided by fiber-optic cables, Israeli media have reported.

Ynet said the military had yet to find a comprehensive solution to the drones and was testing several systems, with a focus on protection, early detection and warning capabilities.

Fortified positions and new access roads

The Israeli military’s logistical preparations offer no indication of an imminent withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Ynet reported that the military was preparing fortified positions and improving roads leading to them, even after the reserve 55th Paratroopers Brigade completed its deployment and handed over its positions to replacement forces.

The brigade completed about 100 days of mobilization, including 80 days of operations in Lebanon, according to the report. Its operations focused on the area between the border and the Yellow Line, reaching about 12 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

Forces from the Bislamach Brigade and the Gefen Battalion, which is part of the officers’ training program, have replaced the 55th Brigade, Ynet reported.

The incoming forces are conducting exercises and improving positions that allow them to monitor and maintain fire control over areas deeper inside Lebanon.

Israeli security officials told Ynet that soldiers would spend the winter in protected compounds inside villages. The buildings were equipped during the summer with generators, air conditioning and sanitary facilities, while routes for troop movements were prepared in advance.

The preparations reflect Israeli concerns that focusing solely on securing the military deployment line could reduce operational readiness and increase the vulnerability of troops stationed in southern Lebanon, according to the report.

Fire zone expands to second line of villages

At the same time, Israel has been expanding its military activity beyond fixed positions established since May.

Southern security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Israeli military had established 17 new fixed military positions since May. Alongside those positions, it has expanded its fire zone toward a second line of villages bordering the Yellow Line.

The stated effect, according to the sources, has been to turn those areas into depopulated and dangerous zones.

Local sources said Israeli forces had intensified sweeping operations and artillery shelling in recent days, accompanied by continuous drone flights.

The shelling has reached the outskirts of villages in the second line from the border, including Wadi Zibqin in the western sector and Mayfadoun, southeast of Nabatieh.

Mayfadoun remains inhabited, and some residents displaced from the town have returned over the past three months, according to the sources.

Strikes reported across southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported a series of Israeli strikes and artillery attacks across southern Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes struck Kfar Tibnit after artillery fire hit the area between Arnoun and Kfar Tibnit.

The area around the public school in Haret al-Baydar in Mayfadoun and the outskirts of Kfar Roummane also came under what the agency described as heavy and concentrated artillery fire. The outskirts of Haris and Hadatha in the central sector were also shelled.

An Israeli Merkava tank fired several shells at Houla, while the outskirts of Shaqra in the Bint Jbeil district also came under Israeli fire.

Artillery fire struck the Kounine forest, while a series of airstrikes hit Kfar Tibnit and Wadi al-Hujair. The explosions were heard in Sidon and surrounding areas.

In the western sector, Mansouri came under intermittent Israeli artillery fire from positions in Al-Bayyada and Tayr Harfa, south of Tyre. The shelling extended to Wadi Hassan on the outskirts of Majdal Zoun.

The Israeli military also carried out a powerful explosion in Mansouri that was heard as far away as Mount Lebanon, according to reports. It was preceded by an explosion on the outskirts of Baraachit in the Bint Jbeil district.

A suspected object believed to be remnants of the Israeli offensive also exploded on the outskirts of Srifa, reports said.

Nine Israeli soldiers wounded in two incidents

The Israeli military said Sunday that an officer and a regular soldier were wounded Friday in Majdal Zoun after a grenade was “improperly thrown.”

The soldier suffered serious injuries, while the officer sustained moderate injuries, according to the military.

Both were taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, and the military said it had opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

In a separate incident on Friday, eight other Israeli soldiers were wounded in southern Lebanon when two military vehicles collided, according to the Israeli military.

The soldiers were taken to hospital and the military opened an investigation into the crash.