Israeli Air Raids Kill At Least 20 In Lebanon After Ceasefire With Hezbollah

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli air raids killed at least 20 people on Saturday, a day after the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, highlighting the truce’s fragility after months of escalation.

“Despite the ongoing ceasefire sponsored by US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, the Israeli enemy carried out Wednesday several attacks on South Lebanon towns and villages”

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

Israel claimed its strikes were in response to projectiles launched by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, and an Israeli army official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting strikes on Hezbollah targets.

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

The Lebanese agency said Israeli warplanes and drones bombed multiple sites in the south and the Beqaa Plain, while the Lebanese army said Israel launched attacks on the south of the country and the Beqaa region, resulting in casualties, injuries, and widespread property damage.

Hezbollah accused Israel of 'citing false claims' to justify breaching the ceasefire 'which it has never complied with,' and said it adhered since Friday evening even after Israel breached it in the early moments.

In the same reporting, Israeli Channel 12 said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz issued instructions to halt fire in Lebanon but not to withdraw from areas it controls, while the Israeli government did not officially confirm this.

In Israel, Al-Mada said i24NEWS revealed rising criticisms within Israel’s political and security circles toward President Donald Trump and his team’s approach to managing negotiations with Iran, quoting informed sources saying American officials “have difficulty understanding the ideology with which they are negotiating.”

The same Al-Mada report quoted Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying Israeli forces “will remain in southern Lebanon for years, and will not withdraw from there even if there is an explicit American request to do so.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Mada added that Smotrich said he does not expect the United States to apply pressure because “the Americans know our red lines,” and it said he replied “Yes” when asked whether the Israeli army would stay in Lebanon for years.

On the ground, the Israeli army announced the killing and wounding of four of its soldiers during a battle in the town of Kafr Tabnit in southern Lebanon, with the spokesperson saying “an Israeli soldier was killed and two were seriously wounded and an officer moderately wounded.”

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera Net framed Trump’s Truth Social post as an equation that “Israel will not attack Hezbollah, and Hezbollah will not attack Israel,” while it reported that Israeli airstrikes continued in the south and demolitions of border villages intensified after the statement.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday that 4,057 people have died in Israeli attacks since March 2, including medics, women, and children, while the understanding between the United States and Iran calls for an immediate and lasting end to military operations on various fronts, including Lebanon.

“Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli air raids killed at least 20 people on Saturday, a day after the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, underscoring the fragility of the truce aimed at stopping the violence that has escalated for months”

Al-Sharq Lil-Akhbar

Al-Manar TV Lebanon reported that despite the ceasefire sponsored by US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, the Israeli enemy carried out Wednesday several attacks on South Lebanon towns and villages, and it said the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported two martyrs in an Israeli attack on a car in Kfar Roumman town.

Al-Manar updated the toll of Israeli war on Lebanon since March 2, registering 4,211 martyrs and 12,173 injuries, and it described additional incidents including a drone dropping stun grenades in the outskirts of Bar’achit and an Israeli artillery strike on the outskirts of Yater town.

In the same Al-Manar account, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in an explosion in southern Lebanon, with investigations still ongoing to determine the circumstances.

Across the reporting, the dispute over whether Israel will withdraw or only halt fire remained central, with Channel 12 saying Netanyahu and Yisrael Katz instructed the army to stop firing but not withdraw from areas it controls, while Hezbollah said it would not tolerate any attempt to encroach on land and expand the occupation.