Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon left at least 31 people dead yesterday, Lebanon’s health ministry said, as Israel announced it was stepping up its campaign despite a truce in its war with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, for its part, reported clashes with Israeli troops it said were pushing into the southern town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, while the Israeli military said it was widening its ground operations.
In a statement, the health ministry said the attacks killed 31 people — including at least four children and three women — and wounded 40 others.
Fourteen people were killed in Burj al-Shamali near Tyre, five in Kawthariyat al-Riz, four in Habbush, six in Maarakeh and two in Salaa, the ministry said.
Airstrikes were also reported in the southern city of Nabatieh after what was described as an unprecedented warning to the city, with plumes of smoke seen rising from multiple locations.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said one strike hit near a public hospital, inflicting “significant damage to the hospital’s departments”.
The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings yesterday for at least 50 towns and villages in the south and east, including Nabatieh city.
Rubble and destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Tyre, Lebanon
An Israeli military official said troops had started operating beyond the Israel-announced “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon, which runs about 10km inside Lebanese territory.
With Israeli operations pushing deeper into the south, Hezbollah said its fighters confronted soldiers attempting to advance into a town that overlooks Nabatieh city yesterday.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it repelled an Israeli force early yesterday as it moved toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah following airstrikes and heavy artillery fire.
The group said it launched a series of drone and rocket attacks on Israeli forces in the town and claimed it engaged them directly.
In eastern Lebanon, the health ministry said “yesterday’s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child”.
The ministry added that rescuers were still working to clear rubble in the eastern town.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported multiple Israeli strikes across the south and east.
According to the health ministry, a strike on Srifa in the south killed a rescuer and wounded two others from the Risala Scouts association, which is linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, bringing the number of rescuers killed in the war to 121.
The health ministry said the cumulative toll from Israeli attacks since 2 March — when Hezbollah fired projectiles into Israel in response to the start of the Iran war — has climbed to 3,213 dead and 9,737 wounded.
The Israeli military said 10 of its soldiers have been killed since the 16 April ceasefire, six of them by Hezbollah’s explosive drones.
The World Health Organization has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce.
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