At least eight people, including two children and a Lebanese soldier, were killed Saturday as fresh Israeli strikes hit Lebanon despite a ceasefire announced just a day earlier. The wave of attacks, part of the broader pattern of Israeli strikes violating the Lebanon ceasefire, has cast doubt over efforts to turn this week’s interim 14-point pact into a lasting regional settlement.
Strikes Hit Multiple Towns Across South Lebanon
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that two children and their parents were killed in a strike on Barish in Tyre district, while one person died and seven remain missing under rubble after a two-wave strike on Arabsalim in Nabatieh governorate. Separate strikes killed individuals near Deir al-Zahrani and in another part of the same town. Israeli warplanes also targeted Upper Nabatieh, Nmeiriyeh, Choukin, Habboosh, Kfarjouz, Zibdin, Sajd and Mahmoudiyeh, with artillery shelling reported around Nabatieh city before dawn. The Lebanese army confirmed one of its soldiers was killed on the Kfar Rumman-Nabatieh road, stating that Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue and have spread into the Beqaa region, causing further casualties and property damage.
The ceasefire had taken effect around 4pm Friday following an exchange of fire, confirmed by both Hezbollah and Israeli officials. Israel has not commented on the NNA report.
US-Iran Talks Proceed Despite Tension
The renewed Israeli strikes on the Lebanon ceasefire come as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi head to Switzerland for talks aimed at converting the interim deal into a durable agreement. A halt to fighting in Lebanon is a precondition for the 60-day US-Iran negotiating process over Iran’s nuclear program, seen as critical to stabilising the Strait of Hormuz and global oil supplies.
Read more: NA Finance Committee Rejects FBR Plan to Share Taxpayer Data With Banks
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks but said the escalation would not derail efforts toward a comprehensive ceasefire. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated to Aoun the need to disarm Hezbollah while affirming support for Lebanese sovereignty, and the two discussed a further round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington from June 23-25.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned separately that Israel remains dissatisfied with the US-Iran deal and may pursue further action, predicting the fragile agreement could easily collapse under renewed strikes on Lebanon.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has meanwhile departed for Tehran to meet senior Iranian officials and discuss progress on the talks, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported. Separately, Rubio is expected to visit Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain next week in one of the highest-level US engagements with Gulf states since the interim deal was signed.
