Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least six people on Friday, including three paramedics at a health centre, just hours after envoys from Israel and Lebanon agreed with the Lebanese government to extend a ceasefire. The strikes targeted what the Israeli military described as Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, triggering a fresh exodus of civilians from the region.
Ceasefire Extension and Renewed Violence
The new attacks came shortly after envoys from Israel and Lebanon completed a round of talks in Washington, reaching an agreement to extend a month-long partly observed ceasefire for an additional 45 days. The deal also includes establishing a US-supervised security mechanism between the two armies. However, Hezbollah has denounced the talks, and Israel has only partly observed the ceasefire ordered by US President Donald Trump on 17 April, restricting attacks on Beirut and northern Lebanon while focusing military operations in the south, where its troops have clashed with Hezbollah fighters.
Details of the Strikes
Lebanon's state-run media reported that at least five villages in the south of the country were hit by strikes. Lebanese authorities said an airstrike on Friday hit a clinic run by the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee, killing six people, three of them paramedics. An Israeli military statement said it had killed Hezbollah militants who were preparing to fire rockets at its troops in southern Lebanon.
Hamas Military Chief Killed in Gaza
In a separate development, Israel confirmed on Saturday that it had killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the acting Hamas military chief, in a targeted strike in Gaza. Al-Haddad was the last surviving Hamas senior official suspected of planning the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and ignited the latest Gaza war. Israel has accused Hamas of violating the fragile eight-month-old ceasefire in Gaza by refusing to disarm, while Hamas blames Israel for failing to abide by the first phase of the truce, continuing airstrikes, and stealthily moving the agreed demarcation line westwards into Hamas-controlled parts of Gaza.
Regional Tensions and Diplomatic Stalemate
Reports in the US and Israeli press suggest that Donald Trump has been briefed on his military options in Iran, should he decide to break a five-week-old truce and resume strikes in the hope of forcing concessions at the negotiating table. Pakistani-led mediation has failed to bring diplomatic progress in more than a month since Islamabad brokered a ceasefire in the Iran war, with the negotiating positions of the US and Iran still far apart. The Israeli media has been predicting a return to full-scale war across the region as truces fray amid scant diplomatic progress.
