An Israeli drone strike hit a town in southern Lebanon, killing at least five people—including three young children—and injuring others. This happened in Bint Jbeil, even though a US-brokered truce has been in place since November. The Lebanon Health Ministry confirmed the deaths, spotlighting the ongoing tensions between Israel and its neighbor.
The attack targeted a motorcycle and a vehicle, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, as reported by Al Jazeera. Among the victims were three US citizen children—Celine, Hadi, and Aseel—along with their father. Their mother survived but suffered injuries, Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said. Israel acknowledged civilian casualties but claimed the strike took out a Hezbollah fighter.
Why strike now, with the truce? Israel often targets Hezbollah spots in southern Lebanon to stop the Iran-backed group from rebuilding its forces. The group lost most of its top leaders, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, in a fierce war with Israel. Berri fired back, asking if “Lebanese childhood poses an existential threat to the Israeli entity?” He slammed the killings as unchecked aggression that endangers global peace.
Lebanon Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former International Court of Justice president, called it a “new massacre” and a clear crime against civilians. “This is intimidation aimed at people returning to their southern villages,” he said, urging the world to condemn Israel’s repeated breaches of international law and resolutions.
Labor Minister Mohamad Haidar accused Israel of deliberately hitting Lebanese families heading back south after over a year of conflict that started with Israel’s war on Gaza. “This plan won’t work—the southern people’s resolve beats any criminal machine,” he declared.
Meanwhile, pressure mounts on Hezbollah to disarm. The US, Saudi Arabia, and some Lebanese groups are pushing hard, and the Lebanese army recently proposed a government plan to start the process. But Hezbollah insists on keeping its weapons as long as Israel keeps striking and holds southern territory.
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