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Strikes across southern Lebanon
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 12 people, Lebanese authorities said, with a medical source telling AFP that the number of martyrs from the Israeli airstrikes in Tayr Debba was eight and in Deir Qanun al-Nahr was four.
The BBC reported that Israeli air strikes killed at least 17 people in southern Lebanon, with nine deaths in Tayr Debba and two deaths in Deir Qanoun el-Nahr, while it also said Hezbollah carried out more attacks on Israeli troops occupying parts of the country’s south.
Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli strikes hit more than 30 locations in southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, including Tayr Debba and Deir Qanun al-Nahr, and it also reported an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in Sidon.
In Sidon, an AFP correspondent heard an explosion before seeing a car burning and rescuers pulling two people from the vehicle, as the BBC described a later attack in the centre of the city of Sidon that killed two people after a car was targeted by an Israeli drone.
Netanyahu urges Lebanese to join
In a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Lebanese people: "Israel is not at war with you. We are at war with Hezbollah, that has taken your country hostage... We yearn for peace with you, with Lebanon."
The Express Tribune also said Netanyahu added: "Seize your future. Join Israel. Build safety and prosperity for all of our children. And once Hezbollah is dismantled, the possibilities are endless," as it described Hezbollah drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.
The BBC said Hezbollah rejected a warning from Iran not to continue Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, while it reported that on Tuesday 15 people were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
The BBC further reported that UN human rights chief Volker Türk announced on Wednesday that he was sending a team of human rights investigators to Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese government, with findings expected at the end of July.
Displacement, ceasefire strain, and risks
Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 3,696 people have been killed there during the conflict, while Israeli authorities say 30 soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border, as the BBC described a war that has continued despite a ceasefire deal announced on 16 April.
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The BBC said almost one million people in Lebanon, a fifth of the population, remain displaced from their homes and that 1.4 million need humanitarian aid, while it added that the conflict has continued since the US-brokered ceasefire deal.
The Express Tribune reported that neither Israel nor Hezbollah has observed an April ceasefire in Lebanon, and it said the latest war continued despite a conditional truce deal announced last week after Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington.
In addition to the immediate toll, the BBC said the UN investigators’ evidence could be used in possible prosecutions for war crimes, while it noted that it remains unclear whether Israel will co-operate with the mission.
