Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed eight people, including a father and his two children, just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to de-escalate hostilities.
Details of the Attacks
Lebanon's State-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone struck a car on the road linking the southern town of Marjayoun with Nabatiyeh, killing James Karam, a dentist from the Christian town of Qlayaa, along with his daughter and son. The Lebanese army confirmed that two soldiers were lightly wounded in a separate drone attack on a road outside the city.
Additional strikes hit the village of Jibchit, killing two Syrian workers at a plant nursery, and the nearby village of Toul, where two more people died. A third strike targeted a car near Harouf, killing one person. On Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed six in the southern village of Marwaniyeh.
Hezbollah's Response
Hezbollah said its fighters fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops advancing into the southern village of Hadatha, about 7 kilometers from the Israeli border. Sirens sounded in northern Israel, and the military reported a suspicious aerial target, though no injuries were sustained.
Broader Context
Despite a Washington-brokered ceasefire in April, both sides have continued exchanges. Israel has justified its actions as self-defense. The latest violence comes as a second round of Israel-Lebanon talks is scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, with Lebanese negotiators seeking a full ceasefire. These talks are the first formal negotiations in over three decades.
The fighting complicates efforts to extend the ceasefire in the Iran war, which erupted after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Tehran insists any deal include a full Lebanon ceasefire. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has rejected direct talks.
Since the latest conflict began, 3,433 people have been killed in Lebanon and over 1 million displaced. Israel reports 27 soldiers and a defense contractor killed, along with two civilians in northern Israel. The Israeli military noted a soldier was killed late Monday, with seven others wounded, three severely.
Hezbollah's use of fiber-optic drones has proven deadly for Israeli forces, who struggle to counter them.
