Middle East war updates: Lebanese army officers killed in Israeli air strikes

Nine people, including three members of the Lebanese army, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army and state media said, days after the two sides reached a new ceasefire agreement.

A brigadier general, a captain and another soldier were killed in the morning air strike on the road connecting the city of Nabatiyeh to the town of Marjayoun, the army said, without immediately disclosing their names.

The state-run National News Agency said six people were killed and four injured in another airstrike on the southern village of Saksakiyah.

“Israel’s ongoing, deliberate and repeated attack on Lebanon, its people and its army only strengthens our determination, faith and determination,” the army said in its statement.

It was stated that Israel’s attacks aimed to prevent all efforts “to reach a solution that would restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territory.”

No statement was made from the Israeli army regarding the air attack that caused the death of the soldiers.

The latest ceasefire was the result of US-brokered talks between Israel and the Lebanese government, which accused Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities.

The Lebanese militant group rejected the ceasefire.

The air strikes came a day after Lebanon’s president and prime minister criticized Iran for opposing the latest ceasefire agreement between the Lebanese government and Israel, saying their country should not be used by Tehran as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to President Joseph Aoun’s comments in a post published on

“If Lebanon were a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached an agreement a long time ago. Save Lebanon from your real enemy, Mr. President,” Araghchi said, referring to Israel.

The war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after Israel and the United States began attacking Iran.

Israel has since launched a land invasion of Lebanon and carried out widespread attacks that have displaced more than a million people.

Israeli troops have captured nearly a fifth of Lebanon, advancing further into the country’s south than at any time since the end of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war.

At least 29 Israeli soldiers and three civilians lost their lives in the clashes.