Israeli Strikes Kill At Least Five In Southern Lebanon After Ceasefire With Hezbollah

Israeli air strikes and drone attacks killed at least five people in southern Lebanon on Saturday, according to Lebanese state media, just hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group took effect.

The Arab Weekly said Israeli warplanes and drones carried out strikes across the Nabatieh area overnight and into Saturday morning, destroying residential buildings and homes, while Israeli artillery shelled Nabatieh and its outskirts before dawn.

Al-Markaz al-Filastini lil-I'lam

The same report said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after escalation jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal, leading to the postponement of US-Iran talks in Switzerland.

It also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said just hours earlier that the Israeli army would stay in Lebanon “as long as necessary” and would make Iran-backed Hezbollah pay a “heavy price” for its attacks.

The Arab Weekly added that Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir went further, saying after the soldiers’ deaths that “all of Lebanon must burn”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes after midnight into Friday had killed 47 people and wounded 97, while the Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in an incident in Lebanon, without giving further details.

The Arab Weekly said two Lebanese security sources reported that Israel carried out a dozen airstrikes in the first hour of the ceasefire but none were recorded after 5 pm, while strikes resumed early Saturday.

Al-Quds al-Arabi

In a separate account, chinadailyhk said the Lebanese Health Ministry's Public Health Emergency Operations Center reported that at least 18 people were killed and 33 others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes on residential areas in southern Lebanon early Friday.

chinadailyhk also said the report was preliminary and that the center said ongoing Israeli airstrikes had hampered rescue efforts and prevented the evacuation of victims in some affected areas.

It further stated that Lebanon's National News Agency had previously reported that 16 people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on residential areas in the Nabatieh district.

Hezbollah said it repelled two Israeli ground incursions and carried out 19 attacks targeting Israeli troops, military vehicles and positions in southern Lebanon using drones, rockets and artillery, framing the actions as response to ceasefire violations.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that Hezbollah said its fighters detected an Israeli infantry force attempting to infiltrate the Maabar area on the outskirts of Kfartibnit in the Nabatieh governorate under hours of artillery and smoke cover, then lured the force into a pre-prepared ambush zone.

The Arab Weekly said the US State Department announced Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and reiterated the need to disarm Hezbollah, and that they discussed holding a next round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Washington on June 23-25.

It quoted US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott saying the talks would provide an opportunity to “make progress toward a lasting peace,” and added that the Lebanese presidency said a comprehensive ceasefire was a fundamental pillar for these talks.

Meanwhile, Anadolu Ajansı said the attacks came as Israeli military operations continued in Lebanon despite a fragile ceasefire agreement in effect since April 17 and extended until early July.