Israel Strikes South Lebanon Day After Ceasefire Extension

TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
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Israel Strikes South Lebanon Day After Ceasefire Extension

TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)

Israel launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite the extension of the truce between the two countries. 

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages. 

The continuing bombardment has only increased skepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south. 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on at least five villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometers from the border. 

At the same time it reported a new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut. 

On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend a ceasefire, which began on April 17 but has been marred by numerous violations, by another 45 days. 

Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for south Lebanese villages ahead of strikes. 

Over this period their geographical scope has expanded to include areas north of the Litani River and further from the border. 

The Israeli military also struck at least one town that was not included in the warning, near the southern city of Nabatieh. 

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and its forces are occupying territory near the border. 

Hezbollah, meanwhile, regularly claims attacks on northern Israel and against the Israeli military in southern Lebanon. 

- 'What kind of a truce is this?' - 

Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities. 

Israel has also reported the deaths of 19 soldiers in southern Lebanon since fighting with Hezbollah erupted. 

The latest strikes come after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held negotiations in Washington -- following the first direct talks in decades last month between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations. 

They agreed to extend the ceasefire. 

Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and claimed an attack against Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Khiam on Saturday. 

The group justified their action by accusing Israel of ceasefire violations and "attacks that targeted villages in southern Lebanon". 

On Friday an Israeli strike hit a center of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee in the southern town of Harouf, authorities said. 

Six people were killed, including three paramedics, according to the Lebanese health ministry. 

Displaced residents from southern Lebanon say the truce is not being implemented. 

"This is not a truce as long as Israeli attacks continue against the south and its people, with deaths, injuries, and destruction," said Ali Salameh, 60, from a school in Beirut where he has been displaced since the start of the war on March 2. 

Others said they backed Hezbollah to keep fighting Israel in retaliation for its attacks. 

"What kind of truce is this when they have just threatened villages and people are being displaced? Where is the state? We stand only with the resistance," said Nawal Mezhir, also displaced from the south. 

- 'Lasting stability' - 

Lebanon's negotiating delegation in Washington on Friday nonetheless welcomed the truce's 45-day extension and the creation of a US-facilitated security track, saying they "provide critical breathing space for our citizens, reinforce state institutions, and advance a political pathway toward lasting stability". 

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. 

On Friday, Israel struck the southern city of Tyre. 

An AFP correspondent saw significant destruction at the targeted site near the coastal city's ancient ruins. 

"They destroyed the entire neighborhood," said Ibrahim Kahwaji, a tailor who was wounded in the leg. 

"They are emptying the south of its population... it's a real occupation. We want a solution." 



Hezbollah Chief Slams Lebanon-Israel Talks

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem (Reuters)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Chief Slams Lebanon-Israel Talks

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem (Reuters)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem (Reuters)

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Friday stepped up his criticism of the Lebanese-Israeli negotiation process, arguing that the seven rounds of talks held so far have produced no results.

He announced the party's rejection of both direct negotiations and the substance of the framework agreement, while reaffirming its commitment to the 2024 agreement.

In a speech marking the anniversary of the July 2006 War, Qassem criticized the Lebanese authorities, saying: "Give us a single achievement from the seven rounds of negotiations."

He also asserted that the Lebanese authorities must “acknowledge their failure."

Qassem accused the authorities of subjecting the country's armed forces to undue pressure by implementing the framework deal agreed with Israel to end hostilities.

The June trilateral framework, to which the United States is also a party, involves Hezbollah’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south, where it has occupied several areas.

It also includes the deployment of the Lebanese army to areas where Israel's military has pulled out, starting in test areas known as "pilot zones.”

"How can you accept this ongoing humiliation of the Lebanese army, exposing it to bombardment and Israeli pressures, instead of acting as its protectors?" Qassem said in a speech.

"Israel is attempting to bind Lebanon to an inquiry committee that oversees the army's deployment, operations, and internal details. Where is the patriotism? Where is the dignity of the army that ought to be preserved?" he said.

Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the direct talks and refuses to surrender its weapons.


US Engaged in Shuttle Diplomacy between Lebanon, Israel to Salvage the Negotiations

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri receives Issa and Clearfield (National News Agency)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri receives Issa and Clearfield (National News Agency)
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US Engaged in Shuttle Diplomacy between Lebanon, Israel to Salvage the Negotiations

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri receives Issa and Clearfield (National News Agency)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri receives Issa and Clearfield (National News Agency)

Head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L) US General Joseph Clearfield met on Friday with top officials in Beirut as part of follow up efforts with Lebanon and Israel on the military aspect of the framework agreement signed between the two countries in June.

The United States has been trying to broker an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which has raged since March in parallel with the wider US-Israeli war against Iran.

The June agreement says the Lebanese army will gradually restore control over all of Lebanon, disarming Hezbollah.

The first phase ⁠began in two pilot zones. The talks did not, however, produce an agreement on the next area from which Israeli troops would withdraw so that Lebanese troops could take control.

Clearfield, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and the accompanying military delegation, visited on Friday Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

The discussions, which were attended by Berri’s Media Advisor Ali Hamdan, touched on the situation in southern Lebanon, as well as the Group’s work in light of the start of identifying the pilot areas and establishing a mechanism to verify the Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese Army.

Berri stressed that "Israel has not ceased its violations and attacks against Lebanon and the south since November 2024,'' adding that the attacks have continued systematically, involving the destruction of villages, bulldozing of fields and agricultural areas, and the burning of forested areas, "not to mention targeting heritage sites and cultural heritage."

Berri said that "the key to stability remains compelling Israel to halt its war and withdraw to the international borders."

Asked about the talks between Lebanon and Israel and the date of the next round, Ambasssador Issa said: "The negotiations will continue, but no date has been set yet."

The US delegation also visited Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail to discuss the military aspect of the negotiation framework and developments in southern Lebanon.

Salam stressed the need for Israel to halt its destruction operations, expand the scope of the pilot zones, and establish a clear timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam receives Issa and Clearfield (National News Agency)

Previous rounds of talks had focused on the sequence of the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the Lebanese Army, and the verification mechanism, without reaching a decision on moving to a new area. Issa reiterated this point on Friday, stating that defining the status of the current areas must precede discussions about other areas.

Shuttle Diplomacy Between Beirut and Tel Aviv

Friday's meetings were part of a shuttle diplomacy conducted by Clearfield between Beirut and Tel Aviv to follow up on the implementation of military arrangements.

Clearfield arrived in Beirut on Wednesday from Tel Aviv, where he had held talks with Israeli officials.

In the Lebanese capital, he met with President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal before departing again for Tel Aviv later that afternoon. He returned to Beirut on Friday.

During that stop in Beirut, Clearfield discussed measures related to implementing the framework agreement and developments in southern Lebanon, at a time when the implementation process continues to face issues related to the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the Lebanese Army, the verification mechanism, and the transition to additional pilot areas.


Iraq Steps Up Anti-Corruption Campaign, Detains Electricity Ministry Official

PM Ali al-Zaidi Visits the Border Ports Authority. Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office
PM Ali al-Zaidi Visits the Border Ports Authority. Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office
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Iraq Steps Up Anti-Corruption Campaign, Detains Electricity Ministry Official

PM Ali al-Zaidi Visits the Border Ports Authority. Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office
PM Ali al-Zaidi Visits the Border Ports Authority. Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office

An Iraqi Commission of Integrity (COI) force arrested on Friday a deputy minister at the Ministry of Electricity on suspicion of involvement in financial violations, as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered tighter oversight of border crossings and stronger efforts to combat corruption and smuggling.

The official Iraqi News Agency reported on Friday, citing a security source in Salahuddin province, that a COI force arrested Khalid Ghazai Attiya, Deputy Minister of Electricity for Transmission and Distribution Affairs, over alleged violations that are currently under investigation.

The source did not disclose the nature of the violations or details of the case, saying legal procedures against the detained official are being conducted in line with the law.

Neither the Commission nor the Ministry of Electricity issued an official statement regarding the arrest or the charges against Attiya.

The arrest comes as the Iraqi government continues its anti-corruption drive and efforts to recover public funds. The first phase of the campaign, launched on June 28 under the name "Operation Dawn Strike," targeted politicians, members of parliament, and business figures.

Government sources had previously stated that legal procedures for the campaign's second phase had been completed. The new phase is expected to focus on corruption cases in the health, oil, and electricity ministries, while also tracking funds and properties inside and outside Iraq and compiling new lists of suspects.

Border Crossings

In a related development, al-Zaidi instructed the Border Ports Authority during a visit to its headquarters in Baghdad on Friday to operate under a self-financing system through tax and customs revenues, with fees deducted before transfers are processed.

He also directed that all border crossings be linked to a unified electronic system, that daily reports on operations and revenues be submitted, and that the automation project for border crossings be accelerated to reduce fraud, corruption, and manipulation.

Al-Zaidi said that fighting corruption at Iraq’s border crossings will be a top priority, with the government planning tougher measures.

Drug and medicine smuggling, attempts to evade regulatory authorities, and other forms of trafficking pose serious threats to Iraqi society, he said, warning that those involved would face government action.

The government is also reviewing a draft law aimed at scrutinizing the sources of wealth of public officials.

Meanwhile, COI said that arrest warrants are being executed under judicial supervision as part of efforts to pursue those involved in corruption and recover public funds.