Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday, just hours after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, raising fresh doubts over the durability of the truce and the wider U.S.-Iran interim deal it is meant to support.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli warplanes and drones struck several areas in the south and the Bekaa Valley.
Israel said the attacks were launched in response to more than 50 projectiles fired overnight by Hezbollah at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. An Israeli military official said the strikes targeted Hezbollah positions.
Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
A senior Hezbollah official told Reuters that the group would not allow Israel “freedom of movement” in what it described as occupied Lebanese territory. The official said resistance would remain legitimate as long as Israeli forces remained inside Lebanon.
The latest violence underlines the fragility of the ceasefire, which was agreed on Friday after a sharp escalation in hostilities. It also threatens to complicate the interim peace understanding between Washington and Tehran, which calls for an end to fighting across several fronts, including Lebanon.
One of the deadliest Israeli strikes hit a three-storey residential building in Barish, a town in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. A local village official said a father, mother and their two children were killed.
The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike killed one of its soldiers on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road. It accused Israel of undermining efforts to restore stability in the country.
Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson said calm could be achieved if Hezbollah stopped what she called hostile activity and violations of agreements.
She said Israel’s presence in a security zone was aimed at removing threats and dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure, not harming civilians.
The ceasefire took effect at 4 p.m. local time on Friday, according to a U.S. official. A senior Israeli official and two Hezbollah sources also confirmed the agreement.
Lebanon’s health ministry says 3,912 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, including medics, women and children.
Israeli authorities say at least 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the latest round of hostilities.
The U.S.-Iran understanding announced this week calls for an immediate and permanent end to military operations by all parties and their allies across multiple fronts.
Israel was not part of the U.S.-Iran negotiations and has objected to parts of the understanding that it says could restrict its military campaign in Lebanon.