Escalating Violence: Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanon Leave 11 Dead

At least nine people were killed and three injured on Monday in Israeli airstrikes on the southern Lebanese towns of Talousa and Haris. The Israeli military reported targeting dozens of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon in its latest offensive.

Earlier on Monday, Lebanese officials confirmed two additional fatalities from Israeli strikes elsewhere in southern Lebanon, including the death of a state security member who was on duty. This brought the day's total death toll to 11.

The airstrikes followed accusations by Hezbollah that Israel had violated a ceasefire agreement, with the group launching missiles at an Israeli military position in the contested Shebaa Farms area. Hezbollah described the missile fire as a "defensive warning strike" in response to Israeli actions. Residents of Beirut also reported hearing drones flying overhead at low altitudes later in the evening.

The escalation has placed the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire in jeopardy, coming less than a week after it was implemented. The ceasefire, which took effect on Wednesday, prohibits Israeli offensive operations in Lebanon while requiring Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from launching attacks on Israel.

The Israeli military reported no casualties from Hezbollah's missile fire, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a "strong" response. Hezbollah, marking its first operation since the ceasefire took effect, stated that the rocket fire was retaliation for repeated Israeli violations of the truce. According to Nabih Berri, Lebanon's speaker of parliament and a key Hezbollah ally who helped negotiate the ceasefire, at least 54 Israeli violations of the truce had been recorded since its inception.

Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that Israeli forces fired two artillery shells at the southern Lebanese town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, and that heavy machine gun fire targeted the town of Yaroun. However, no injuries were reported in either incident. Berri urged the committee monitoring the ceasefire to take immediate action to ensure Israel ceases its violations.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed that the U.S. is working with France, Israel, and Lebanon to investigate the reports of ceasefire breaches, emphasizing that while early ceasefire periods are often fragile, the truce had broadly succeeded in reducing violence.

In addition to the deadly strikes, Lebanese authorities reported a fatal Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Israeli border, as well as a drone strike in Nabatieh that killed a member of Lebanon's state security forces. The Lebanese army also reported that an Israeli drone targeted an army bulldozer near the Syrian border, injuring one soldier.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents in Marjayoun and Nabatieh but confirmed it had targeted military vehicles near Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and near the Syrian border.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denied accusations of wrongdoing, accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire by moving weapons south of the Litani River. “Israel is committed to the successful implementation of the ceasefire, but we will not accept a return to the situation as it stood on October 6, 2023,” Saar said in a statement.

In response to the violations, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who brokered the truce, reportedly issued a warning to Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a "powerful blow" against Hezbollah, accusing the group of making a "big mistake" by targeting Israeli territory.

The mounting tensions threaten to unravel the ceasefire agreement, as both sides continue to trade accusations and violations, deepening the uncertainty in an already volatile region.