Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least eight people on Tuesday, including a father and his two children, a day after US President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to reduce hostilities.
The attacks came despite efforts to contain fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border and followed Israeli threats on Monday to strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, prompting thousands of residents to flee to safer areas as Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle travelling between Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh killed dentist James Karam and his son and daughter. The Lebanese army said two soldiers were lightly wounded in a separate drone strike near the city.
Additional Israeli drone strikes targeted several locations across southern Lebanon. According to NNA, a strike on the village of Jibchit killed two Syrian nationals employed at a plant nursery, while another strike on the nearby village of Toul killed two people. A separate attack near Harouf killed one person.
NNA also reported that six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Marwaniyeh on Monday.
The latest violence occurred one day after Trump announced that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to de-escalate tensions. Following discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communications with Hezbollah through mediators, Trump said there would be no Israeli ground operation in Beirut.
Israel has recently carried out its deepest military incursion into Lebanon in more than two decades. While Beirut has largely been spared during the past six weeks, the city’s southern suburbs have been targeted twice since May.
Hezbollah said its fighters fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops advancing into the village of Hadatha, approximately seven kilometres from the Israeli border.
The Israeli military reported that warning sirens were activated in several northern areas after what it described as a “suspicious aerial target” was detected near the area where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon. It said no injuries were reported.
Although a US-brokered ceasefire was reached in April, both sides have continued exchanging attacks. Israel says its operations are defensive and aimed at preventing Hezbollah attacks, while Hezbollah has maintained military pressure in support of its regional allies.
The renewed fighting comes ahead of a second round of Israel-Lebanon talks scheduled to take place in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lebanese negotiators are expected to push for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that would halt future attacks and stabilise the border.
The talks, which began in April, are the first direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in more than 30 years. The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.
The conflict has also complicated wider efforts to secure a longer-term agreement between Iran and the United States following the war that began after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Tehran has insisted that any broader settlement must include a complete ceasefire in Lebanon.
According to Lebanese authorities, the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed more than 3,400 people and displaced over one million residents. Netanyahu’s office says at least 27 Israeli soldiers, one defence contractor and two civilians have been killed during the conflict.
Israel’s military said on Monday that one soldier was killed and seven others wounded in southern Lebanon, three of them seriously. Military officials have also acknowledged growing challenges posed by Hezbollah’s use of fibre-optic-guided drones, which have proven difficult to detect and intercept.
