Israeli Airstrike In Southern Lebanon Kills Seven, Including Three Children

An Israeli airstrike on a home in southern Lebanon killed seven people, including three children and two women, early Saturday, Lebanese state media and the Health Ministry said, in one of the deadliest attacks since the June 20 truce between Israel and Hezbollah.

The strike targeted a home on the outskirts of Ansar, with paramedics continuing to search through the rubble, according to the state-run National News Agency. Lebanon’s Health Ministry later said seven people were killed and two wounded, revising an earlier NNA report that three people had been wounded. According to AP, the strike came after Israel and the Lebanese government announced a framework agreement on June 26, under which Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Intense Israeli airstrikes early Saturday also hit the strategic Ali Taher hill, which overlooks parts of the southern city of Nabatiyeh and main roads leading to it, NNA reported. Despite the truce, Israel’s military has continued almost daily attacks in the area, which lies north of the Litani River, which has been a de facto boundary in Lebanon, while large areas to the south remain under Israeli military control.

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the areas of Ali Taher and Ansar in response to an action against Israeli soldiers in the area. The military added that it will not allow Hezbollah to harm Israeli civilians or soldiers “and will continue to operate to remove threats.”

A Hezbollah official did not immediately respond when asked for comment on whether the group had carried out any attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Earlier this month, two Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion in southern Lebanon, the first Israeli deaths since the shaky truce. Hezbollah did not comment on the blast.

Israel and the Lebanese government announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The agreement also envisages steps towards an eventual peace agreement between the two countries, which technically remain in a state of war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.

Hezbollah has refused direct talks and was not party to the deal. It has also refused to disarm, accusing the Lebanese government of making too many concessions without guaranteeing an Israeli withdrawal.

Lebanon and Israel have held seven rounds of talks, with the most recent taking place in Rome earlier this month, AP reported.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets across the border two days after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. More than 4,000 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since then, including hundreds of civilians. About 40 soldiers and three civilians — including a military contractor — have been killed on the Israeli side, according to AP.