Lebanon Health Ministry Says Separate Israeli Strikes on South Kill Several on Sunday

New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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Lebanon Health Ministry Says Separate Israeli Strikes on South Kill Several on Sunday

New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
New Israeli strikes on Lebanon - REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

Lebanon's health ministry said three people were killed in separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon on Sunday, as Israel said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

In separate statements, the health ministry said one person was killed in "Israel enemy" strikes in three different south Lebanon villages.

Hezbollah on Sunday announced two fighters had been killed, without specifying where they died.

The Iran-backed group said it launched "explosive laden drones" towards two troop positions in northern Israel "in response to the enemy attacks" on south Lebanon.

Early Sunday, it said it fired dozens of rockets at military production facilities and an air base near the north Israel city of Haifa.

The Israel military said a barrage of rockets, cruise missiles and drones were launched overnight towards Israeli soil, mostly from Lebanon to the north.

Hezbollah has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack triggered the Gaza war.

Tensions have spiked dramatically in recent days, with several dozen killed and thousands wounded in Lebanon when Hezbollah pagers and two-way radios exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hezbollah has blamed Israel, which has not commented.

On Friday, an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs that targeted Hezbollah military commanders killed 45 people, the health ministry said.



Lebanese Politician Accuses Israel of Increasing Bombardment to Wring Concessions

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanese Politician Accuses Israel of Increasing Bombardment to Wring Concessions

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker has accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment of Lebanon in order to pressure the government to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah.

Elias Bou Saab, an ally of the Iran-backed group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.”

“We are optimistic, and there is hope, but nothing is guaranteed with a person like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu),” Bou Saab told reporters.

Israel has carried out heavy strikes in central Beirut in recent days, while Hezbollah has increased its rocket fire into Israel.

The United States is trying to broker an agreement in which Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops would patrol the region, along with a UN peacekeeping force.

Israel has demanded freedom of action to strike Hezbollah if it violates the ceasefire, but Bou Saab said that was not part of the emerging agreement.

He also said Israel had accepted that France be part of the committee overseeing the ceasefire after Lebanese officials insisted. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side.

Israel has objected to France being on the committee in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision last week to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military commander.

France said it supports the court. It said the question of whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on French soil was a “complex legal issue” that would have to be worked out.