Lebanon health ministry says Israeli strikes kill 14 in deadliest day since ceasefire began | Lebanon
Lebanon’s health ministry said 14 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the south of the country on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect a week ago.
The health ministry said that two women and two children were among those killed on Sunday, and 37 people were injured. Israel announced that one of its soldiers was also killed.
The US-brokered ceasefire, which began on April 16 and was extended until mid-May, led to a significant reduction in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah; but both sides continued to fire at each other, accusing them of violations.
“Hezbollah’s violations practically destroy the ceasefire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday, adding: “We are acting strongly according to the rules we agreed with the United States and, by the way, with Lebanon.”
Hezbollah has said it will not stop its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continues its “ceasefire violations”.
The Iran-backed group added in a statement that it would not wait for diplomacy that “has proven to be ineffective” or trust Lebanese officials who “have failed to protect the country.”
Israeli troops operate in what they call the “yellow line”, which borders Lebanese territory at a depth of about 10 kilometers along the border and from which residents are warned not to return.
The Israeli military repeated the warning on Sunday, telling residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before the ceasefire. A spokesman for the Israeli army said Hezbollah had violated the ceasefire and that Israel would take action against it, telling people to move north and west from the towns. The towns are located north of the Litani River and in southern Lebanon, in the area occupied by Israeli troops. The army said the attack hit Hezbollah fighters, rocket launchers and a weapons depot.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli attacks on multiple locations in the south on Sunday, both in areas where Israel had issued an evacuation warning and elsewhere.
Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it had attacked Israeli troops in Lebanon and the rescue force that had come to evacuate them. The Israeli army announced that one soldier died and six soldiers were injured. The Israeli army said it captured three drones before they crossed into Israeli territory after sirens went off in northern Israel on Sunday.
To avenge the death of Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2, drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war. More than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 277 of the dead were women, 177 children and 100 healthcare workers.
The ministry makes no further distinction between militants and civilians, and Hezbollah has not disclosed the total number of its fighters. The group has buried dozens of fighters in mass burials in recent days.
Israel announced that two civilians have died in Israel and 16 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2 in Hezbollah attacks.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
