Israel carried out a deadly wave of strikes in Lebanon on Saturday, as clashes with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, continued to intensify despite a U.S.-mediated cease-fire reached last month.
At least seven people, including a child, were killed in one strike on the southern coastal town of Saksakiyeh, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings for a number of Lebanese towns and villages on Saturday, but Saksakiyeh was not among them. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah militants in a building used for military purposes, without offering details.
Shortly afterward, two cars were targeted on Lebanon’s main coastal highway, south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, signaling that the attacks were moving farther inland. The Israeli military also said it was striking what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and launch sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, launched drones and rockets at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, injuring three soldiers, the Israeli military said.
“They are hitting a lot today,” said Ali Khalil, a resident of Al-Baisariyah, a town in the country’s south a few miles from Saksakiyeh. “So many people are getting killed for no reason.”
The tit-for-tat attacks on Saturday came amid an escalation in fighting that has exposed the limits of the cease-fire and stoked worries that the truce could collapse into another full-fledged war.
Since the U.S.-mediated cease-fire was announced last month, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade daily fire in southern Lebanon, each accusing the other of violating the deal. But the violence has widened in recent days. Earlier this week, Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, the first such attack there since the truce took effect.
Next week, envoys from Israel and Lebanon, whose government does not control Hezbollah, are scheduled to hold another round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington, as the Trump administration attempts to turn the cease-fire into a more durable arrangement.
The Trump administration pushed for the cease-fire in Lebanon to preserve fragile peace talks with Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer.