Israeli strike kills seven in south Lebanon as attacks intensify

An Israeli air strike has killed seven people and wounded three in southern Lebanon, according to state media, as Israel intensified attacks across several towns and villages overnight.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said the strike hit a house on the outskirts of Ansar, in the Nabatieh district, early on Saturday, destroying the building.

Emergency teams from the Islamic Message Scout Association, the Islamic Health Authority and Lebanon’s Civil Defence were working to remove rubble and transfer the dead and wounded to hospitals in Nabatieh, the agency said.

It was the deadliest reported Israeli attack in Lebanon since agreements reached in June led to a significant reduction in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

NNA said Israeli attacks intensified early on Saturday, with a series of air strikes on the Ali al-Taher Ridge near Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

Two other strikes hit areas near the teachers’ training centre and the Husseini club in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while the valley between Ansar and Zarariyeh was also hit in what the agency described as the first strike to reach this far into southern Lebanon since the ceasefire two months ago.

Closer to the border, Israeli forces destroyed several homes in Bint Jbeil and opened heavy machinegun fire towards houses along the Kounine-Saf al-Hawa road, according to NNA.

An Israeli air attack also hit the al-Mashaa neighbourhood in al-Mansouri shortly before midnight.

Violence has decreased since a United States-Iran memorandum of understanding in June and a subsequent US-sponsored framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, but Israeli attacks and demolitions have continued in the south.

The framework calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem criticised the Lebanese authorities over the implementation of the framework, accusing them of pressuring the army while Israeli attacks continued.

“How can you accept this ongoing humiliation of the Lebanese army, exposing it to bombardment and Israeli pressures, instead of acting as its protectors?” he said.