Israeli Strikes Kill 20 People in Lebanon
Collected Photo
At least 20 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, just one day after a ceasefire came into effect, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Saturday.
The ceasefire brokered by Washington, was aimed at halting weeks of escalating violence between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and officially went into force on Friday.
The Israeli military (IDF) said the strikes were a response to more than 50 projectiles fired overnight by Hezbollah toward Israeli positions. An IDF official stated that Israeli warplanes and drones targeted multiple locations in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in retaliation.
Hezbollah has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and warned that continued attacks would not go unanswered. The group also urged Washington to pressure Israel to halt its strikes.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred in the town of Barish in the Tyre district, where a strike on a three-story residential building killed a husband, wife, and their two children, according to a local official.
The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in a separate strike on the Kfarouman–Nabatieh road. The NNA also reported that an Israeli strike destroyed a branch of Lebanon’s central bank in Nabatieh. The central bank confirmed the building was directly hit but said there were no casualties at the site.
An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military said peace could return if Hezbollah halts 'hostile activities' and violations of agreements. An Israeli military official added that forces are currently acting on political leadership directives and remain in a defensive posture.
The Israeli military also claimed that five of its soldiers were killed in Hezbollah attacks over the past 48 hours.
Lebanon’s health ministry said that since March 2, Israeli strikes have killed 4,057 people, including doctors, women, and children. Israel, meanwhile, says 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in ongoing clashes with Hezbollah. Rising tensions have raised new concerns over the durability of the ceasefire agreement.
Source: Al Jazeera (Adapted)
