Saturday marked the deadliest day of Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon since a tenuous truce between Israel and Lebanon renewed in late June, with at least 11 people reported killed in the attacks.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the strikes an “escalation” and a “matter of utmost gravity” in a post on X.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on the latest ceasefire nearly two months ago. The ceasefire agreement was mediated by the United States, with ongoing talks between the two governments intended to begin a withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The agreement allowed Israel to continue operating in certain parts of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah rejected the agreement only days after it agreed to its own renewed ceasefire with Israel following one of the deadliest days in Lebanon in which the Israeli military killed at least 47 people in Lebanon, after a Hezbollah attack that left four Israeli soldiers dead.
The agreement was backed by US President Donald Trump, whose efforts to neutralize tensions with Iran have long been imperiled by Israel and Hezbollah’s ongoing fighting.
Days later, Israel approved continued military operations in southern Lebanon, striking buildings in Nabatieh and Mayfadoun. The IDF called these “Hezbollah command centers,” while the militant group said they were residential.
But none of the multiple ceasefire agreements signed since April have successfully ended the fighting in Lebanon.
Earlier this month, Israel issued its first evacuation order in southern Lebanon since June, launching fresh strikes on the area as Lebanese and Israeli officials met for talks in Rome to cement the terms of the ceasefire.
The US-mediated talks ended earlier than expected after the attacks, but resumed the next day.
CNN’s Elise Hammond, Alejandra Jaramillo, Eyad Kourdi, Sana Noor Haq, Eugenia Yosef, Oren Liebermann, Hanna Ziady, Kara Fox, Dani Karni, Ibrahim Dahman and Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.