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Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani
Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon again on Saturday, killing at least 11 people, with Lebanon’s health ministry saying seven were killed in a strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar and four more killed in Deir al-Zahrani.
“At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday”
Reuters reported that the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure overnight in what it describes as a security zone in southern Lebanon in response to actions against its soldiers there.
The BBC said Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attacks, adding that the seven civilians killed were not "military infrastructure".
Reuters also reported that the Israeli military said it killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force unit, when it struck "a central headquarters of the Radwan Force unit," in Ansar.
Competing claims and threats
Hezbollah said the attacks would be "met with what they deserve" after Israel’s strikes, while the Reuters account described Lebanon’s National News Agency reporting seven deaths in Ansar and four in Deir El Zahrani.
The BBC quoted Nawaf Salam saying, "Israel must halt this escalation," and added that "For the security of our people and their right to life on their land are not subject to negotiation or bargaining."
In Israel’s account, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack, and Reuters reported it was "Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound."
The Telegraph described Israel’s bombardment as in response to a Hezbollah attack and said the IDF accused a Hezbollah commander of using his family members as “human shields,” while also reporting that Lebanon’s National News Agency said two women and three children were among the dead.
Framework talks under strain
The Reuters report said the strikes came as Lebanon and Israel’s U.S.-mediated peace framework leaves Israeli troops inside occupied southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army takes control, terms Hezbollah rejected as surrender.
“tighten up" negotiations”
Reuters also said Doron Spielman, international spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, told Reuters the strikes would "tighten up" negotiations, while the BBC reported that Lebanese and Israeli negotiators were set to meet for an eighth round in September.
The BBC quoted Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemning the strikes as a "clear message" to the US-led negotiations, and it said Hezbollah was not involved in the agreement and had rejected direct negotiations.
In the Telegraph’s account, Hezbollah urged Lebanese officials to walk away from talks and said Israel would be “met with what they deserve,” while the paper said an eighth round of U.S.-brokered direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon is set to take place in early September in Rome.
