Israel carries out air strikes in southern Lebanon, at least 11 killed

At least 11 people were killed after a series of Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon on Saturday, Lebanese health authorities said, marking one of the deadliest single days in recent weeks since a US-mediated ceasefire framework was agreed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure overnight inside what it described as a security zone in southern Lebanon, saying the raids were carried out in response to actions against its soldiers. The Prime Minister's office accused Hezbollah of breaking the ceasefire and attacking Israeli troops, leaving three soldiers wounded.

Local toll and targeted sites

Lebanon’s official news agency reported that seven people died when Israeli warplanes hit a house in the southern village of Ansar, and four others were killed in a strike on the village of Deir El Zahraani. The seven killed in Ansar included three children and two women, and authorities said a total of 19 people were wounded in the recent strikes.

The news agency also reported other air strikes across southern Lebanon, including in the strategic area north of the Litani River known as Ali al-Taher mountain. One strike, aimed at a valley near Ansar, was described as the deepest incursion into Lebanon in the past two months.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that, “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with an attack on the Hezbollah terrorist headquarters that ordered the attack.” It added: “It was only later that the IDF learned that Hezbollah deliberately placed civilians in that military complex.”

Israel’s military said it killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, and others when it struck “the headquarters of that unit” in Ansar. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, said it would "respond appropriately" to the strikes. At least 4,300 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest round of fighting since March 2.

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