At least 20 killed as Israel continues attacks in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 20 people on Saturday, Lebanon’s state news agency reported, a day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, highlighting renewed pressure on a truce meant to stop months of escalating conflict.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli warplanes and drones hit several civilian and infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. One of the deadliest attacks struck a three-storey residential building in the southern town of Barish in the Tyre district, killing a father, a mother and their two young children, according to a local official.

The Lebanese military also said a separate Israeli strike killed a soldier stationed on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 4,057 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, including medics, women and children.

Hezbollah and Israel trade accusations

Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out hundreds of clear ceasefire violations and said continued attacks would draw a response. The group said responsibility for the escalation rested entirely with Israel and called on the United States to pressure Israel to implement diplomatic understandings and stop the attacks.

Israeli forces tried overnight to infiltrate the Ali al-Taher hill area in southern Lebanon, after which Lebanese fighters engaged them. Hezbollah said Israel then launched wide-ranging air strikes both inside and outside its declared operational zone. The group said it remained committed to the diplomatic ceasefire but would respond to any Israeli attempt to seize land or widen its presence in Lebanese territory.

A senior Hezbollah official said the group would not allow Israel freedom of movement in occupied Lebanese territory and maintained that armed resistance remained legitimate while Israeli forces stayed inside Lebanon.

On the Israeli side, a military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces positioned in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said those actions amounted to repeated ceasefire violations and warned it would answer any attacks.

Israeli troop presence remains a point of tension

Israeli forces remain deployed in parts of southern Lebanon. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said the military had been instructed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz to hold fire, but that the leadership refused to pull troops back from areas captured in Lebanon.

Late on Saturday, an Israeli army official said the military had been told by the country’s political leadership to stop combat in southern Lebanon.

"The IDF has received updated directives from the political echelon to cease fire"

The statement came as diplomats from several countries gathered at a retreat in Switzerland over the weekend to try to preserve talks on a preliminary US-Iran agreement aimed at ending the wider Middle East war. The understanding announced this week called for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations by the parties and their allies across several fronts, including Lebanon.

Israeli authorities, meanwhile, say at least 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed.