Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said seven people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar in Nabatieh district. State media reported that the victims included three children and two women.
Later on Saturday, another round of Israeli strikes hit the town of Deir al-Zahrani, killing four people and injuring five others, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military said it had targeted “Hezbollah terror infrastructure” in response to what it described as an earlier action against its soldiers.
The strike on Ansar took place at around 4:30am local time, in an area where displaced families were reportedly staying. Footage circulating on social media showed thick smoke rising over the village as sirens sounded.
Salam condemned the attack, saying the seven civilians killed in Ansar were not military infrastructure.
“Israel must halt this escalation,” he said, stressing that the safety and right to life of Lebanese civilians were not subject to negotiation.
The Israel Defense Forces said the incident that prompted its response occurred in the Ali al-Taher Ridge, a strategic high ground overlooking large parts of southeastern Lebanon and one of the most heavily contested positions during the conflict.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported several strikes around the ridge.
Near the border, several homes were reportedly destroyed in Bint Jbeil, while Israeli forces opened heavy machine-gun fire towards residential areas, according to the agency.
Ceasefire framework under pressure
Lebanon was drawn into the wider conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran on March 2, when Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned armed group, launched rockets towards Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Israel responded with an extensive bombing campaign across Lebanon and a ground offensive in parts of the south. Israeli forces continue to occupy roughly 5% of Lebanese territory.
The framework announced in June calls for Hezbollah to disarm, Israeli forces to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army to deploy across the area.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the latest strikes, including the killing of an entire family in Ansar, and accused Israel of repeatedly violating the framework.
He said the attacks sent a “clear message” to the US-led negotiations.
Hezbollah, which was not a party to the agreement, has rejected direct negotiations.
The group said Israel’s attacks and attempts to impose a new reality in southern Lebanon could not continue and would be met with an appropriate response.
The IDF, meanwhile, said it would continue targeting threats to Israeli civilians and soldiers operating in the security zone, a roughly 10-kilometre-deep military buffer in southern Lebanon occupied by Israel.
Despite the reduction in fighting following the June framework, Israeli strikes and demolitions in southern Lebanon have continued.
Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are expected to hold their eighth round of negotiations in September, although a final date has not yet been announced.
