(CP) DUBAI, UAE – Israel conducted dozens of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday in what observers described as the most intense bombardment of the region since last year’s U.S.-brokered ceasefire, killing at least one person and wounding eight others as smoke billowed from hilltops in the Nabatieh region just 8 miles from the border.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah infrastructure site in violation of the truce agreement that requires the Iran-backed group to withdraw all weapons and fighters from areas south of the Litani River. Hezbollah, which suffered devastating losses during last year’s war including the elimination of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, has previously stated it fully complied with ceasefire terms by removing all forces from southern Lebanon. The group’s current leader, Naim Qassem, insisted no Hezbollah weapons remain in the south, though Israel has disputed this claim and maintained troops at five strategic hilltop positions inside Lebanese territory.

This latest escalation occurs against a backdrop of mutual accusations that the other side has failed to fully implement the peace deal negotiated by the United States, which redrew the security map along the volatile border. The ceasefire terms specifically required Hezbollah and all armed groups to withdraw south of the Litani River while mandating that Israel pull back its troops and allow the Lebanese army to deploy in the border region. Since the truce began, rockets have been fired toward Israel twice from Lebanese territory, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, though Lebanese authorities claim Palestinian militants rather than Hezbollah were responsible for these attacks.

The renewed violence threatens to destabilize a region still recovering from a devastating conflict that began when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. During last year’s fighting, Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters, destroyed much of the group’s arsenal, and eliminated top leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, radically altering the power dynamics that had dominated the political map of the region for decades. World powers including the United States, which brokered the current fragile truce, have repeatedly called for restraint from both sides, fearing a return to full-scale confrontation could further complicate peace efforts in the wider Middle East.