Lebanon reports 11 killed in fresh Israeli airstrikes

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon at dawn Saturday, marking the deadliest incident since the roughly two-month-old ceasefire with Hezbollah took hold.

According to Lebanon's Health Ministry, one strike near the village of Ansar destroyed a house and killed seven people, including three children and two women, while wounding two others. Residents told reporters the building had served as a Hezbollah base. A second strike on the village of Deir al-Zahrani killed four people and wounded 17. Additional strikes were reported near the strategic Ali Taher hill, which overlooks the southern city of Nabatiyeh and roads leading to it.

The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, describing the action as retaliation for an earlier attack by the group on Israeli forces.

Hezbollah threatens response

Hezbollah vowed an "appropriate" response, warning that Israeli attacks and attempts to impose new realities on the ground could not continue unanswered. The group also criticized ongoing negotiations between Lebanese authorities and Israel, calling them humiliating and accusing them of handing Israel concessions for free.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strikes, stressing that those killed in Ansar were not military targets, and called on Israel to halt the escalation.

A fragile truce

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict flared up again in early March amid the wider confrontation with Iran, when Hezbollah struck northern Israel. It escalated into full-scale fighting involving Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon, mass displacement of residents, and more than 4,300 deaths. Israel has established a so-called security zone covering roughly 620 square kilometers, about 6% of Lebanese territory. Since a framework peace deal was announced in late June, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violations, and seven rounds of talks have been held, most recently in Rome.