Israel Military Says ‘Battle’ in Lebanon Continues, Ceasefire Does Not Apply

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Military Says ‘Battle’ in Lebanon Continues, Ceasefire Does Not Apply

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military said Wednesday its forces would continue their campaign against Hezbollah fighters, claiming the ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Lebanon. 

"The battle in Lebanon continues, and the ceasefire does not include Lebanon," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said on X, warning residents to evacuate areas south of the Zahrani River. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said the Iran war truce does not include Lebanon. 

The strikes came despite Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, not claiming any operations since 1am (Tuesday 2200 GMT). 

Israel renewed an evacuation order for an area more than 40 kilometers inside Lebanon. It followed another warning to evacuate a building in the southern Tyre region, which Israel then struck, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. 

NNA reported several strikes across the south. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has acted as a mediator in the conflict, said the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States applied "everywhere including Lebanon", but Netanyahu later said the country was excluded. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the ceasefire, saying he hoped his country would be included in the regional truce. 

Aoun said Beirut "continued efforts to ensure that the regional peace includes Lebanon in a stable and lasting manner", according to a statement from the presidency. 

A Lebanese official told AFP that authorities "have not been informed" of Lebanon being included. 

Hezbollah told people displaced by the war to refrain from returning to their homes before a ceasefire is announced in Lebanon, while claiming to be nearing a "historic victory". 

"Today, we stand on the threshold of a great and historic victory," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, calling on people to "not head to the targeted villages, towns, and areas in the south, the Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut before the official and final ceasefire declaration in Lebanon is issued". 

Hezbollah did not share an official stance on the truce. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, welcoming the ceasefire, said "our wish is to ensure that the ceasefire fully includes Lebanon". 

Spain's foreign minister said it was "unacceptable" that Israel continued its invasion of Lebanon after the ceasefire. 

"All fronts must cease, and all fronts also means Lebanon. It is unacceptable that Israel's war, Israel's invasion of a sovereign country like Lebanon... continues," Jose Manuel Albares told public radio RNE. 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire as "good news" on X but said Spain would not "applaud those who set fire to the world because they show up with a bucket". 

Israel's attacks in recent weeks have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities, especially in the country's south, east and Beirut's southern suburbs, areas where Hezbollah holds sway. 

On Wednesday an AFP correspondent in southern Lebanon saw small numbers of people heading south, some in cars and others carrying their children on motorcycles. 

But Lebanon's military warned displaced people against returning south "since they may be exposing themselves to the ongoing Israeli attacks". 

Another correspondent in Beirut's southern suburbs, which have been heavily struck by Israel, said the area remained deserted. 

Shortly before the ceasefire announcement, an Israeli strike on the southern city of Sidon killed eight people. 



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills Seven

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills Seven

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Gaza's civil defense rescue service said Thursday that seven people were killed in separate Israeli strikes through the day, while the Israeli army said three of the victims were "military operatives".

Six of the seven were killed in various parts of Gaza City.

Two people were killed in a drone strike on a car, while one was killed in a drone attack on a tent in an encampment for displaced people, the rescue service and al-Shifa hospital said.

The Israeli army told AFP that the three targeted were "military operatives in terrorist organizations."

"Two people, a woman and a child, were killed and others were wounded when Israeli aircraft bombed a residential building" in Gaza City, the civil defense said.

A woman was also killed by artillery shelling in Gaza City, health officials reported.

The civil defense reported that "one person was killed by Israeli fire southeast of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza."

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was checking the reports about the other four victims.

The war began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Hamas on Thursday denied Israeli claims that it uses Gaza hospitals for military activities, after the army said Wednesday that militants "advanced attacks from within (Kamal Adwan) hospital" in northern Gaza.

Hamas in a statement called the accusations "criminal incitement".

Israel's military offensive against the group has displaced nearly all the population of Gaza and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians.

Since a ceasefire was declared in October last year, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,450 people in Gaza, according to the ministry.

The Israeli military has declared the deaths of five soldiers and one civilian contractor in the same period.


Israeli Army Says One Soldier Killed, Three Wounded in South Lebanon

An Israeli army vehicle operates in East Zawtar, as seen from West Zawtar, southern Lebanon, October 1, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
An Israeli army vehicle operates in East Zawtar, as seen from West Zawtar, southern Lebanon, October 1, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Israeli Army Says One Soldier Killed, Three Wounded in South Lebanon

An Israeli army vehicle operates in East Zawtar, as seen from West Zawtar, southern Lebanon, October 1, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
An Israeli army vehicle operates in East Zawtar, as seen from West Zawtar, southern Lebanon, October 1, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The Israeli army said Thursday that one soldier was killed and three others were slightly wounded in south Lebanon, where the military has occupied a band of territory since invading in March in response to Hezbollah attacks.

"Captain Eliav Haim Tzapalamus, aged 21, from Haifa, a combat officer in the 603rd Battalion, 7th Brigade, fell in combat in southern Lebanon," the army said.

Tzapalamus is the 17th Israeli soldier to be killed since a ceasefire was reached in June between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.

On Thursday, visiting EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP in Beirut that the bloc favored avoiding a security vacuum and extending a UN peacekeeping mandate in south Lebanon.

The EU's top diplomat also said that the bloc would soon be launching a training mission for the under-resourced Lebanese army.

Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 since March, according to Lebanese official figures.


Yemeni Forces Consolidate West Coast Gains, Reinforce Bab al-Mandab Positions

 Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026.    Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
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Yemeni Forces Consolidate West Coast Gains, Reinforce Bab al-Mandab Positions

 Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026.    Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS
Yemeni government fighters sit in the back of a vehicle near Dhubab, Taiz Governorate, Yemen, in this still image taken from video released October 5, 2026. Southern Giants Brigades/Handout via REUTERS

Yemeni armed forces consolidated gains along the western coast and reinforced positions overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait as they pushed ahead in al-Wazi'iyah district in western Taiz province under Operation “Dawn of Yemen.” Fighting with the Houthis continued in the southern Taiz countryside and on fronts around the city.

The armed forces said they had neutralized more than 1,800 Houthi fighters in recent hours. Army figures put Houthi losses at nearly 10,000 killed or wounded over two weeks of air and ground strikes across multiple fronts.

Nation Shield forces, the Giants Brigades and the Joint Forces took full control of the Kahboub front, according to Yemeni military media. The advance strengthens government forces’ hold on heights overlooking Bab al-Mandab and boosts their ability to secure the strategic corridor as operations continue along the western coast.

Taiz province’s emergency committee suspended classes at public, community and private schools, institutes, colleges and universities in districts that have come under Houthi control. It also placed government employees there on temporary leave, citing exceptional security conditions.

The United Nations warned of a worsening humanitarian situation in Taiz as Houthi attacks spread, displacement rises and aid access faces growing restrictions. Major roads remain closed, adding to pressure on services and limited resources.

The eastern road into Taiz city remains closed, the United Nations said in a recent report. Road closures between Aden and Taiz have disrupted a major supply route from warehouses in Aden, hampering aid agencies’ ability to reach those affected and meet growing needs.