Families from occupied and affected villages in southern Lebanon gathered in Beirut on Tuesday to protest Israel's systemic destruction of their villages and cultural heritage.
The protesters condemned the continuous bombings of civilian residences and the erasing of towns and villages by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon.
They called on the Lebanese government and the international community to take action to protect their villages and heritage, and help them return safely to their homes.
"I want to specifically talk about the city of Bint Jbeil, where we originally had about 8,000 residences, and now around 7,000 have been destroyed. That is a systemic destruction. Schools, hospitals, government agencies, Red Cross facilities and social affairs centers were all razed to the ground. This is a war crime and Israel must be held accountable for it," said Mohammad Bazzi, mayor of the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil.
Israel and Lebanon are due to meet in Rome in October for another round of U.S.-mediated talks aimed at reaching a security agreement, according to U.S. officials. A June ceasefire framework envisaged an Israeli withdrawal alongside the disarmament of Hezbollah, but implementation has stalled as Israel continues to carry out almost daily strikes in Lebanon. Lebanon has repeatedly demanded that Israeli forces leave its territory.
The protesters said that the Israeli army intensified its indiscriminate strikes on southern Lebanon after the June ceasefire framework.
"(Israel) continued to bomb and destroy the city of Bint Jbeil, surrounding villages and the border areas. We call on the Lebanese government to withdraw from this framework agreement, which helped Israel wipe out our villages and cause mass displacement," said Bazzi.
Southern Lebanon families protest Israel's systemic destruction of civilian villages
Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday it had launched two missile and drone attacks targeting an Aramco facility and a military air base in response to Saudi air strikes against Yemen this week.
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia earlier Wednesday of carrying out more than 450 airstrikes across seven Yemeni provinces over the past week. In response, the group used dozens of ballistic missiles and drones to attack the Saudi Aramco facility in the western Saudi city of Yanbu, and launched several ballistic missiles to struck the airbase in Khamis Mushait air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border.
The group claimed the Yanbu attack caused large fires and extensive damage, while missiles targeting Khamis Mushait accurately hit their targets. Saudi authorities and Aramco have not commented on the claims. The Houthis also said that it would continue operations against Saudi Arabia until the kingdom halts its airstrikes and lifts the blockade on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
On the same day, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement carried by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV that the group had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over the northeastern province of Marib. He said the fighter jet was struck by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile while conducting "hostile operations" in support of Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in Marib.
Sarea said Houthi forces subsequently fired locally made air-defense missiles at two formations of Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets that entered Marib's airspace to search for the wreckage of the downed aircraft, forcing them to retreat.
Separately, Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday evening before it entered the prohibited airspace of the holy city, the Saudi-led coalition said.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al Maliki said the security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims is a "red line", adding that the coalition would not hesitate to take necessary measures to deter further Houthi attacks.
An official from the Houthis rejected the allegation on Wednesday.
"The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone," Houthi official Hazem al-Assad wrote on X.
Yemen's Houthis claim missile, drone strikes on Saudi Aramco facility, air base
