LEBANON: At least 13 people, including women and a child, have been killed in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The ministry said eight people, among them two women and a child, were killed in Haboush in the Nabatieh district, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had issued an evacuation warning.
In Zrarieh in the Sidon district, four more people, including two women, died in another strike, while a separate attack in Ain Baal in the Tyre district killed one person. Overall, 32 people were reported injured on Friday.
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have continued despite a three-week extension of a ceasefire agreement. On Saturday, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it had targeted Israeli troops and military vehicles inside Lebanon.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said one of its soldiers was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon on Thursday, raising its military death toll since early March to 17.
In a separate development, the Lebanese army said its Chief of Staff Gen. Rudolph Heickl met US Gen. Joseph Clearfield at Beirut air base, where discussions focused on strengthening the army’s role and support during the current situation. Clearfield heads a committee overseeing the US-backed ceasefire between the two sides.
The initial 10-day truce was announced on April 16 following talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon—the first high-level contact between the two countries since 1993. A further three-week extension was announced by US President Donald Trump on April 23, who said the talks had gone well and that the US would work with Lebanon to help it defend itself from Hezbollah.
Although the ceasefire has largely reduced strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs, hostilities have continued in southern Lebanon, with ongoing air raids and evacuation orders reported.
(Inputs from BBC)
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