The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Saturday, targeting what it claimed were Hezbollah facilities. The strikes were accompanied by fresh evacuation orders for additional villages—some located dozens of kilometers from the border—just a day after the extension of a Washington-sponsored ceasefire, whose effectiveness remains widely questioned.
اضافة اعلان
During a third round of talks in Washington on Friday, both countries agreed to extend the ceasefire, which has been in place since April 17 and was scheduled to expire on Sunday, for an additional 45 days.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the extension on Saturday, "urging all actors to fully respect the cessation of hostilities."
Since the ceasefire took effect, Israel has continued to conduct strikes, which it claims target Hezbollah positions and operatives, alongside demolition operations in border areas occupied by its forces. The Israeli military has also issued daily evacuation orders for villages, expanding its geographical scope to include regions far from the border, densely populated by residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from other areas.
In response, Hezbollah announced attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. On Saturday, the group reported targeting the Ya'ara barracks in northern Israel with "a squadron of attack drones."
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on dozens of towns included in Saturday’s evacuation orders, such as Kouthariyeh al-Siyad, Al-Mansouri, Al-Ghassanieh, Al-Marwanieh, and Al-Baysarieh, situated more than 50 kilometers from the Israeli border.
The agency noted a wave of displacement toward Sidon (Saida) and Beirut following the Israeli warnings.
Airstrikes also hit towns not covered by the evacuation orders, including Habboush near the city of Nabatiyeh, according to the NNA.
For its part, the Israeli military announced it had "attacked infrastructure belonging to" the group in several areas across southern Lebanon.
On Saturday evening, the military reported that one of its soldiers was killed "during combat in southern Lebanon," raising the death toll of military personnel killed on the northern front since the war began to 21.
Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including over 400 since the ceasefire came into effect, according to Lebanese authorities, while displacing more than a million people.
"Occupation"
The talks held on Thursday and Friday in Washington marked the third meeting between Lebanon and Israel in recent weeks, aimed at ending the war and shaping the future relationship between the two nations.
Israel maintains that its priority is the disarmament of Hezbollah and removing its threat from the border.
In contrast, Hezbollah refuses any direct negotiations, calling on the Lebanese government to withdraw from them. The group insists it is not concerned with any discussions regarding its arsenal taking place at the Washington talks.
In a statement issued Saturday, Hezbollah called on "the authority to halt the series of cost-free concessions" and to "abandon the illusions of reaching a peace agreement with this usurping, covetous, and occupying enemy."
The group added, "It has become certain to many Lebanese that extending the ceasefire is an extension of the ongoing killing of their people and a cover for aggression against them."
The U.S. State Department announced it will host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a long-term political agreement on June 2 and 3. Prior to that, the Pentagon will hold a meeting for military delegations from both countries on May 29.
Saturday's airstrikes came a day after six people, including three paramedics from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority, were killed in Israeli bombardments in the south.
On Friday, Israeli strikes hit a residential area in the heart of the city of Tyre, approximately 100 meters from an archaeological site, following evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military for buildings in the area.
Source: AFP
