Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people across southern and eastern Lebanon and wounded dozens more, Lebanese authorities said Wednesday, as Israel widened its military campaign against Hezbollah despite a cease-fire that officially remains in effect.
The latest escalation marked one of the deadliest waves of strikes since the truce was announced in April, underscoring how fragile the agreement has become as fighting along the border edges closer to a full return to war.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the casualties came from Tuesday’s bombardment, which targeted several areas in the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Among the dead were 12 people killed in a strike on the eastern village of Mashghara, including members of the same family, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
Israeli forces also struck areas near the Qaraoun Dam and reservoir, Lebanon’s largest water reserve built along the Litani River.
Lebanese officials reported three strikes around the strategic site southeast of Beirut, raising fears over possible damage to critical infrastructure.
The Litani River Authority warned of “catastrophic risks” to residents and facilities downstream if the area came under sustained attack. Although authorities later said the dam itself was not directly hit, the strikes intensified concerns over the vulnerability of Lebanon’s already fragile water and electricity systems.
The Israeli military announced late Tuesday that it was expanding its ground operations in southern Lebanon, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify attacks against Hezbollah positions.
“The Israeli Defense Forces are operating with large forces on the ground and seizing strategic areas,” Netanyahu said after consultations with military and defense officials, arguing that Israel needed deeper control inside southern Lebanon to protect northern Israeli communities from Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.
An Israeli security official, speaking anonymously under military regulations, said an additional battalion had been deployed to Lebanon as part of the expanded campaign.
Israel’s military said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets overnight, including weapons depots, command centers and observation posts in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. On Wednesday morning, it also claimed to have killed a Hezbollah operative attempting to retrieve a drone in southern Lebanon.
The violence spilled across the border overnight as air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel following incoming fire from Lebanon. The Israeli military said the projectile landed in an open area.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it launched rockets, artillery shells and explosive drones targeting Israeli troops advancing near the Litani River toward the villages of Yohmor al-Shaqif and Zawtar al-Sharqieh. The group’s Al-Manar television channel claimed Hezbollah fighters repelled Israeli advances along the riverbanks.
The Litani River has effectively become the dividing line in the conflict, with Israeli troops maintaining control over significant territory south of the waterway despite the cease-fire extension. The truce, brokered earlier this year and renewed twice, has failed to halt near-daily clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah remains outside the formal cease-fire framework and has rejected negotiations with Israel. The group intensified attacks after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran earlier this year, triggering massive Israeli retaliation across Lebanon.
The renewed fighting is also complicating wider diplomatic efforts tied to the regional conflict with Iran. Tehran has reportedly pushed for any broader settlement to include an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s government, which took office promising reforms and the disarmament of armed factions, hopes upcoming talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations could pave the way for a lasting cease-fire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
Israel, however, insists it will not pull its troops out until Hezbollah no longer threatens residents of northern Israeli towns. Hezbollah has responded by vowing continued resistance until Israeli airstrikes stop and troops leave Lebanese territory.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has increasingly highlighted its use of fiber-optic drones, which it says are harder for Israeli defenses to intercept. Israeli authorities have since warned residents in northern communities to avoid large gatherings amid fears of additional drone attacks.
The latest escalation has reignited memories in Lebanon of Israel’s long military occupation during the 1980s and 1990s, with many fearing a prolonged ground presence could return.
In Beirut, anxiety spread even though the capital itself has largely been spared from strikes since the cease-fire began.
“By just saying a few words on TV, Netanyahu causes everyone to panic and flee their homes,” Beirut resident Tony Aboud said in the city’s Hamra district. “I don’t know what’s going to happen and how long we can live like this.”
The war has displaced more than one million people across Lebanon since Hezbollah launched attacks into northern Israel in March in solidarity with Iran, according to Lebanese authorities.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 3,213 people have been killed and more than 9,700 wounded in Israeli strikes since the conflict began.
According to Netanyahu’s office, 23 Israeli soldiers, one defense contractor and two civilians have been killed in or near Lebanon and northern Israel, most of them in drone attacks.
DAILYSABAH
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