{"id":251391,"date":"2026-08-16T13:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T13:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/251391\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T13:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T13:20:16","slug":"why-has-israel-escalated-attacks-in-southern-lebanon-despite-ceasefire-israel-attacks-lebanon-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/251391\/","title":{"rendered":"Why has Israel escalated attacks in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire? | Israel attacks Lebanon News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lebanese leaders have condemned the Israeli bombing<\/a> of southern Lebanon that has killed at least 11 people in the worst attacks since the renewal of a ceasefire was brokered in June by the United States.<\/p>\n

Lebanon and Israel have agreed to two truce agreements \u2013 June 4 and 26 \u2013 mediated by US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. June 4 ceasefire<\/a> was contingent on a \u201ccomplete cessation\u201d of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of its fighters. The June 26 framework agreement<\/a> did not specifically call for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and instead tied it to the disarmament of Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

The agreements came after another truce announced in April had unravelled. Both the ceasefires, opposed by Hezbollah, have not stopped the Israeli military from expanding its control over Lebanese territory and carrying out deadly attacks.<\/p>\n

An Israeli escalation came as the Lebanese government is planning to hold another round of talks with Israel next month.<\/p>\n

So what is behind the latest Israeli escalation, and where do the talks stand?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Public Health said at least 11 people, including several children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes in the southern district of Nabatieh.<\/p>\n

Lebanon\u2019s National News Agency (NNA) reported that seven people were killed and three wounded when Israeli warplanes struck a house on the outskirts of Ansar village, destroying the building. Four other people were killed in a strike on the village of Deir al-Zahrani.<\/p>\n

Reporting from Nabatieh on Saturday, Al Jazeera\u2019s Ali Hashem said the Israeli attack came, after midnight, killing members of a family and creating more fear for other people who live in this area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an area seen by people as safe, but an air attack has now hit. There\u2019s now this escalation, along with apparently more Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon. We are seeing many demolitions. They are erasing towns and villages in the south,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are villages, especially those on the border with Israel, that have been completely erased, including graveyards and historic monuments,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Israeli army carried out an air strike on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh district near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort Castle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed flames and smoke rising from the area between the Ali al-Taher hills and the Dabsha area amid the sound of explosions.<\/p>\n

Al-Manar, Hezbollah\u2019s TV channel, said the blasts were a result of Israeli air attacks in the area while the Nabatieh news channel reported that the raids took place near the town of Kfar Reman.<\/p>\n

The area has seen increased Israeli army activity in recent days and weeks after a lull following the June truce. Israel said the area has strategic significance and it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Explosions have also been reported in Lebanon\u2019s southern towns of Bint Jbeil and Taybeh, according to the NNA.<\/p>\n

Israeli drones also targeted the outskirts of the town of al-Mansouri. Artillery shelling was reported in the towns of Sarbin, Barashit, al-Mansouri and Wadi Zibqin.<\/p>\n

What has Israel said?<\/p>\n

The Israeli military claimed the attacks were carried out in response to what it described as an action by Hezbollah against Israeli soldiers at the Ali al-Taher Ridge.<\/p>\n

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on X that the Israeli military responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack\u201d. It added that \u201conly later\u201d did the Israeli military \u201clearn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel has repeatedly targeted civilians in Lebanon and during its genocidal war in Gaza, but it often claims that armed groups operate from civilian areas. These claims have been proved to be wrong on most occasions.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military also said it killed Abu Hassan Alaa, whom it described as a senior commander in Hezbollah\u2019s \u201cBadder Unit\u201d, and Hezbollah commander Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan in its strikes in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claims.<\/p>\n

Ziad Abu Rish, an associate professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Bard College in the US state of New York, told Al Jazeera most observers believe Netanyahu wants to escalate strikes on Lebanon \u201cto demonstrate an undeterred resolve\u201d to occupy the country\u2019s south and to \u201cpummel\u201d Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians.<\/p>\n

He said Saturday\u2019s attacks follow \u201ca pattern that has been in place since the so-called ceasefire\u201d in which Israel is \u201callowed by the US\u201d to attack Hezbollah and civilians in Lebanon \u201cwithout any consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n

He noted that Israeli forces have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon since March 2 and wounded more than 12,000. About 90,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed while roughly 600,000 people remain displaced.<\/p>\n

March 2 was the day the latest Israeli escalation in its war on Lebanon began. It started after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for United States-Israeli air strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s lives have been broken,\u201d Abu Rish said. \u201cAnd it is clear that the Israeli policy has been to collectively punish the Lebanese population and in particular Shia majority parts of Lebanon and south Lebanon as it wages a campaign not just against Hezbollah but against the Lebanese people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The professor added that Israel\u2019s actions in Lebanon should also be put in the context of what is happening in Gaza. Israel has killed more than 1,200 people in Gaza since an October \u201cceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw that Israel was able to continue its genocide in Gaza with no consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo people should really not be surprised to see that it is really able to carry out a campaign of effectively depopulating and making south Lebanon uninhabitable, as has been documented by numerous journalists and human rights organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has Lebanon said?<\/p>\n

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has criticised Israel\u2019s continuing attacks on southern Lebanon, particularly in Nabatieh and the surrounding areas, saying they repeatedly violate the ceasefire reached with the US and Israel.<\/p>\n

Aoun said the attacks constituted \u201ca clear message to the negotiation track\u201d and to US efforts to implement the agreement, and he accused Israel of repeatedly violating international laws protecting civilians.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned continued Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and called them a matter of \u201cutmost gravity\u201d. Israel, he said, must \u201chalt\u201d its escalation in the area.<\/p>\n

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, called the Israeli attacks a \u201cmassacre\u201d and said they represented the continuation of a \u201cwar aimed at extermination\u201d in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

A Hezbollah statement on Saturday alleged that the escalation reflected Netanyahu\u2019s desire \u201cto escalate the war in order to bolster his domestic political standing, serve his electoral goals and appease the far-right\u201d. A general election in Israel is scheduled for October 27.<\/p>\n

Hezbollah also criticised Lebanese authorities, calling on them to seek ways to halt Israeli attacks rather than pursuing direct negotiations.<\/p>\n

Randa Slim, the Middle East Program Director at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera that Lebanon has backed itself into a corner by agreeing to a badly negotiated deal with Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they have much choice right now. They have locked themselves into these negotiations, and the cost of walking away from these negotiations is going to be much higher for the Lebanese than it is going to be for the Israelis, and that is exactly the position Israel wants them in,\u201d Slim said.<\/p>\n

She added that excluding Hezbollah from the ceasefire negotiations was also a mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cHezbollah was not consulted and neither was the speaker of parliament, who has lately been speaking on behalf of Hezbollah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel is \u201cnot going to withdraw and [is saying,] \u2018I\u2019m not going to cease fire until Hezbollah is disarmed.\u2019 And Hezbollah is saying, \u2018I\u2019m not going to disarm until I can see withdrawal from the Israelis,\u2019\u201d Slim added.<\/p>\n

Where do the talks between Lebanon and Israel stand?<\/p>\n

Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2. Before then, Hezbollah had stuck to the terms of a November 2024 ceasefire despite near-daily Israeli violations. The 2024 ceasefire had aimed to end a war that began in the wake of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, which started in October 2023.<\/p>\n

As part of a US-brokered June 26 framework deal, Israel agreed to withdraw from large swaths of southern Lebanon they are still occupying after the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and the Lebanese army moving in to provide security near Lebanon\u2019s border with Israel. However, this has not happened yet, and the Lebanese and Israeli governments have since been holding negotiations. The seventh<\/a> round of talks took place in early August.<\/p>\n

Israel continues to occupy nearly one-fifth of Lebanon. The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Doron Spielman, a spokesman for Netanyahu told the AFP news agency that Israel\u2019s attacks on Saturday should \u201cjump-start\u201d the talks, \u201cnot do the opposite\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe in the agreement. We very much hope that the Lebanese armed forces are going to be able to step into the foray, and together we\u2019re going to remove Hezbollah from the picture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Separately, a spokesperson for the US Department of State told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah bears responsibility for the Israeli presence on Lebanese territory.<\/p>\n

The official described Hezbollah as the main obstacle to Lebanon\u2019s economic recovery and said the \u201cpilot zone\u201d programme, under which Israeli forces withdraw from certain areas and Lebanese soldiers move in, remains the only viable path to peace.<\/p>\n

Abu Rish said the ceasefire has been \u201cin name only\u201d and held only from June 19 to 23 when Iran pushed for an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon as part of its memorandum of understanding with the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lebanese leaders have condemned the Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon that has killed at least 11 people in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[44,37,47,93,49,42,51,57],"class_list":["post-251391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-explainer","tag-israel","tag-israel-attacks-lebanon","tag-lebanon","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117105395287090940","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}