Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill at least 19 as clashes with Hezbollah continue despite ceasefire | Lebanon
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 19 people, including four women and three children, were killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday; It was the latest in a near-daily series of attacks from both sides despite a fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on casualties or specific incidents but said it targeted more than 25 sites of Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon.
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when the Lebanese militant group fired rockets at Israel, two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.
In Beirut, the government said 10 people, including three children and three women, were killed in a single attack on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal province of Tire. Three people, including a child, were injured.
The ministry did not give further details about the strike, but the state-run National News Agency said the strike destroyed a house and left many people trapped under the rubble. The bodies were recovered later in the day.
Another airstrike on the southern city of Nabatieh killed four people and injured 10 others, including two women, according to the ministry. A third attack on the nearby village of Kfar Sir left five people dead, including a woman.
The latest deaths came a day after the death toll in the latest clashes between Israel and Hezbollah surpassed 3,000 and two days after a 45-day extension of the US-brokered ceasefire in effect since April 17.
Israel has since invaded southern Lebanon and bombed its capital, Beirut, and other areas, saying it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah, which is both a militant group and a powerful political organization in Lebanon, has resisted pressure to disarm, including from the Lebanese government.
More than a million people have been displaced by conflict in Lebanon; Some took shelter in tents on the roadsides in Beirut and in the Mediterranean.
Israel, meanwhile, has difficulty stopping frequent drone strikes targeting Hezbollah’s troops in Lebanese territory and border towns in Israel’s north.
The Israeli army said one of its soldiers was killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, bringing the death toll of Israeli soldiers to 21 since the latest conflict began.
