Israel Army Ups Hezbollah Death Toll from April 8 Strikes to Over 250

 12 April 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: People and civil defense workers search for human remains amid the debris of a collapsed building following an Israeli air strike at the Beirut seafront. (dpa)
12 April 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: People and civil defense workers search for human remains amid the debris of a collapsed building following an Israeli air strike at the Beirut seafront. (dpa)
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Israel Army Ups Hezbollah Death Toll from April 8 Strikes to Over 250

 12 April 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: People and civil defense workers search for human remains amid the debris of a collapsed building following an Israeli air strike at the Beirut seafront. (dpa)
12 April 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: People and civil defense workers search for human remains amid the debris of a collapsed building following an Israeli air strike at the Beirut seafront. (dpa)

Israel's military said Monday that a massive wave of strikes in Lebanon last week killed five Hezbollah commanders, as well as more than 250 of the Iran-backed group's fighters.

The Lebanese health ministry has said Wednesday's attacks killed more than 350 people in total and wounded more than 1,200.

Israel had previously put the number of Hezbollah members killed at around 180.

"During the largest strike conducted in Lebanon, more than 250 Hezbollah terrorists and commanders were eliminated" across the country, including in the country's south, the Bekaa region and Beirut, the military said in its statement Monday.

The military named five commanders killed, including Hassen Nasser, chief of Hezbollah's logistics support headquarters, and Abu Muhammad Habib, deputy commander of the group's missile unit.

The army said Monday that it continued to operate in Lebanon, with troops surrounding the southern town of Bint Jbeil.

Last week's punishing wave of strikes came on the same day as the start of a fragile two-week truce agreed between the US and Iran in the Middle East war, which has killed thousands across the region and plunged the global economy into turmoil.

Also on Monday, Israel's military said it had struck around 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours. 

"In the past 24 hours, approximately 150 Hezbollah terrorist organization targets were struck in numerous areas across southern Lebanon," the military said, adding that the targets included "military structures, anti-tank missile launch points, and terror command centers". 

Lebanon was pulled into the war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2, days after the opening salvo of US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel responded with massive strikes and a ground invasion.

While Iran and mediator Pakistan had insisted Lebanon was included under the ceasefire, Israel and the US have disputed this.

Israeli and Lebanese officials are set to hold negotiations on Tuesday in Washington.



Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
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Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Israel is expected to approve on ‌Thursday the allocation of 1 billion shekels ($337.8 million) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said.

The plan is being promoted by Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of Israeli settlement expansion who has said he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood, reported Reuters.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet schedule, ministers are expected to discuss the establishment of temporary sites that have already been approved in the West Bank.

The schedule did not say whether ‌the ministers would ‌approve new funding. Netanyahu's office did not immediately ‌respond ⁠to a request for ⁠comment.

FUNDING FOR ROADS, WATER, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.

UN bodies and most countries view the West Bank settlements as ⁠illegal, citing international conventions. Israel disputes this, saying ‌a Jewish presence has existed ‌in the West Bank for thousands of years.

In a statement, Peace Now said ‌the cabinet vote would bypass the standard settlement planning process. ‌It said the settlements in question had been approved by Netanyahu's government over the past three years.

Both Peace Now and the news website Axios, citing a draft resolution, said the allocation of funds would include construction of ‌infrastructure such as access roads, land preparation, sewage systems, water connections and related works, as well as ⁠temporary residential ⁠compounds.

A spokesperson for Smotrich, the finance minister, did not provide specifics but said the cabinet vote would strengthen Israeli settlements and that these are not new settlements, but rather existing sites. Smotrich last week announced a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians and many countries view the settlements as a primary obstacle to peace, saying they eat into West Bank land that could make up a potential State of Palestine. The expansion of settlements and smaller settler outposts has been accompanied in recent years by a rise in Israeli settler violence, with settlers staging sometimes deadly attacks on Palestinians.


All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
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All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)

All three missing Indian seafarers have died after a US military strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, ⁠Indian Shipping Minister ⁠Sarbananda Sonoma said on Thursday.

The US said its military carried ⁠out a "precision" strike on the vessel that failed to follow its instructions and was carrying oil from Iran.

Indian sources told Reuters that ⁠New ⁠Delhi had summoned the US deputy chief of mission after lodging a "strong protest" on the strike.


Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Israeli military said on Thursday that two "launches" were identified falling adjacent to an ‌area where ‌Israeli troops ‌are ⁠operating in southern ⁠Lebanon, after sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel.

Earlier, the military ⁠said Home Front ‌Command ‌had issued a precautionary ‌directive after detecting "launches" ‌from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel, urging residents to ‌enter protected spaces.

More than three ⁠months ⁠since the US-Israeli attack on Iran ignited conflict around the Middle East, Lebanon remains a major frontline in the war.