Israeli Forces Clash With Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, Wounding Two IDF Soldiers

On Monday, Israeli forces reported a clash with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon in which two IDF soldiers were moderately wounded, while Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 17 people and wounded 35 over the past day, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry as cited by Haaretz.

“Israel’s military has issued new displacement orders to residents in towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including areas beyond its current zone of occupation, despite a truce meant to halt fighting with the armed group Hezbollah”

Al Jazeera

Haaretz said the figures were reported by the Lebanese Health Ministry, and it framed the day as a combination of ground contact and air activity.

Al Jazeera

In a separate account, ynetnews said that around 11 a.m. troops from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, operating under the command of the 36th Division, encountered terrorists in southern Lebanon who opened fire at them, and the troops returned fire after the two soldiers were wounded.

ynetnews added that after the incident, the Air Force struck several Hezbollah military buildings and an anti-tank post in the area, and that IDF forces were continuing to operate while working to close in on the terrorists.

The same ynetnews report also described a separate raid by troops from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit under the command of the 91st Division, which it said found dozens of rockets and additional weapons including Kalashnikov rifles, RPGs, and combat equipment.

It further said the troops found loaded launchers aimed at IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon and at Israeli territory.

Across the reporting, the casualty picture also included Hezbollah-related drone incidents: ynetnews said that on Thursday, Sgt. Liem Ben Hamo, 19, from Herzliya, was killed by an explosives-laden drone in southern Lebanon, and another soldier was moderately wounded in the incident.

Alongside the fighting and strikes, multiple outlets reported Israeli evacuation orders affecting towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

Jordan News said the Israeli occupation army issued new evacuation orders on Monday morning for residents in several areas of Southern Lebanon, naming Qana Debeal (Tyre District), Qaqaiyat al-Jisr, and Srifa, and it said residents were instructed to move at least 1,000 meters away from these villages and towns toward open lands.

BBC

Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s military issued new displacement orders to residents in towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including areas beyond its current zone of occupation, and it quoted the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posting on X: "For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 metres [0.6 miles] into open areas."

Al Jazeera said the warning covered more than 10 villages and towns, including several in the district of Nabatieh that lie north of the Litani River, and it added that Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency later reported a series of Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including on towns not mentioned in the displacement order.

i24NEWS said the IDF issued an urgent evacuation warning on Sunday to residents of 11 towns in southern Lebanon, and it described the warning as being delivered in Arabic, telling residents that anyone remaining near Hezbollah facilities "exposes their life to danger."

Middle East Eye reported evacuation warnings for a list of towns in southern Lebanon including Qaaqaait al-Jisr, Adchit al-Shaqif, Jebchit, Ebba, Kfar Jouz, Harouf, al-Duwayr, Deir ez-Zahrani and Habboush, and it said the orders came despite a ceasefire in place since 17 April.

In parallel, the Arabic-language reporting in صحيفة سبق الإلكترونية said the Israeli army ordered an urgent evacuation of 18 villages in southern Lebanon in preparation for expanding the buffer zone, and it described a ground incursion that began in March 2026 to establish a civilian-free buffer zone 3–4 kilometers deep along the border.

Hezbollah’s leadership rejected the idea of a ceasefire holding, with Egypt Independent reporting that Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Monday: “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon, but rather ongoing Israeli American aggression,” as the Iran-backed group trades fire with Israeli forces despite the shaky ceasefire.

“Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Monday that “there is no ceasefire in Lebanon, but rather ongoing Israeli American aggression,” as the Iran-backed group trades fire with Israeli forces despite the shaky ceasefire”

Egypt Independent

Egypt Independent quoted Qassem saying, “There is no such thing as a yellow line or buffer zone, and there will not be,” and it added that the group “will inevitably succeed.”

The same report tied Qassem’s statement to a fresh evacuation order by the Israeli military of four villages in southern Lebanon, saying it was “in light of Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Egypt Independent said at least one person was killed Sunday in Israeli strikes on Arab Salim, in the Nabatieh District, southern Lebanon, and it said three others were wounded, including one child, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) and the ministry of health.

It also reported that five people were injured in Israeli strikes on the southern town of Srifa in Tyre District, with four paramedics among those injured, again citing NNA.

Egypt Independent further stated that Israeli strikes had so far killed 2,679 people and wounded 8,229 others, citing the health ministry.

It also reported that the IDF said on Monday it had begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas across southern Lebanon, saying it was conducting operations against “armed Hezbollah terrorists who were operating in close proximity to the troops.”

Several reports placed the current violence within a ceasefire timeline and described diplomatic efforts involving the United States and Lebanon’s government.

BBC said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued despite an ongoing three-week ceasefire extension, and it described that on 16 April an initial 10-day pause in hostilities had been announced following ambassador talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon.

Folha de S.Paulo

BBC said a three-week extension to the ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump on 23 April, who said the second meeting between the two countries "went very well" and that the US would be working with Lebanon "to help it protect itself from Hezbollah."

BBC also reported that the US embassy in Beirut suggested on 30 April that a meeting between Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would give Lebanon "the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory" and that this would be "guaranteed by the US."

In parallel, Al Jazeera said the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, in force since mid-April and recently extended to mid-May, “exists only in name,” and it quoted its correspondent Rory Challands saying “Down south, Israel maintains five divisions of its invading army, and it is bombing and demolishing homes extensively,” while also describing forced evacuation orders.

Al Jazeera also said the US called for direct peace negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, but Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that Israel should fully implement the ceasefire before the talks can take place.

BBC added that the Lebanese army said its Chief of Staff Gen Rudolph Heickl met US Gen Joseph Clearfield at the Beirut air base, and it said the talks emphasized "the importance of the army's role and the necessity of supporting it amid the current phase".

The reporting also emphasized the scale of deaths and injuries and described ongoing military operations and future policy decisions.

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Haaretz

Haaretz said Israeli strikes killed 17 people and wounded 35 over the past day, while BBC said at least 13 people, including four women and a child, were killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese health ministry also reporting that 32 people were injured on Friday.

Haaretz

BBC detailed that two women and a child were among eight killed in Haboush in Nabatieh district, where the IDF had issued an evacuation order, and it said four people, including two women, were killed in Zrarieh in Sidon district, while another person was killed in Ain Baal in Tyre district.

BBC also reported that on Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in Lebanon, while the Israeli military said one of its soldiers was killed during combat in southern Lebanon on Thursday, bringing the number of Israeli troop deaths since early March to 17.

BBC further said that since early March, 2,659 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 103 health care workers and emergency responders, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and it said it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Looking ahead, i24NEWS said Israel’s Security Cabinet was set to convene on Sunday evening to discuss whether to maintain current restrictions or consider broader military action against Hezbollah targets beyond southern Lebanon, and it said the issue was expected to feature in potential diplomatic discussions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said at least 10 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the country on Saturday, and it said the total death toll since the Israel-Hezbollah war escalated on March 2 is 2,659, with 8,183 injured.