Israeli Air Strikes Kill 13 Civilians in Southern Lebanon Despite Ceasefire Extension
At least 13 individuals, including four women and a child, have been killed in Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon, as reported by the Lebanese health ministry. The attacks also left 32 people injured.
Among the casualties, eight were killed in Haboush, within the Nabatieh district, an area where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously issued an evacuation order. This figure included two women and a child. Additionally, four people, two of whom were women, died in Zrarieh in the Sidon district, and another person was killed in Ain Baal in the Tyre district.
These fatalities occur despite an ongoing three-week extension to a ceasefire agreement, which has demonstrably failed to halt hostilities outside of Beirut. The initial 10-day pause was agreed on 16 April following ambassador-level discussions in Washington between Israeli and Lebanese officials, marking the first high-level talks since 1993 between the two states, which lack formal diplomatic relations. US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire extension on 23 April, stating the US would assist Lebanon in 'protecting itself from Hezbollah'.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed organisation, was not party to the ceasefire agreement but had indicated its willingness to abide by its terms if Israel reciprocated. However, fighting has persisted in southern Lebanon, characterised by continued air raids and repeated evacuation orders.
On 30 April, the US embassy in Beirut controversially suggested a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming it would offer Lebanon 'the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory', with US backing. Neither leader has publicly responded to this proposition.
The current cycle of violence escalated after the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, which resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader and hundreds of civilians, including 110 children in an attack on a primary school. Hezbollah retaliated on 2 March with rocket and drone strikes into Israel, prompting Israel to bombard Lebanon with air strikes. Israeli forces subsequently re-entered southern Lebanon in early March, engaging in village destruction and maintaining an occupation of 10km of Lebanese territory.
Since early March, the Lebanese health ministry reports 2,586 deaths in Lebanon, a figure that includes 103 healthcare workers and emergency responders. Seventeen Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon, and two Israeli civilians have died in Hezbollah attacks in Israel. The IDF claimed to have conducted 'around 50 strikes in the last day' on southern Lebanon, targeting what it described as Hezbollah operational headquarters and military-purpose buildings.
