Israel kills at least five people in Lebanon after extension of the ceasefire
At least five people have been killed as Israeli air attacks hit several locations in southern and eastern Lebanon
A series of Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon has killed at least five people and wounded more than a dozen others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Despite Israel agreeing to an extension of the ceasefire with Lebanon, Sunday’s attacks targeted the municipalities of Tayr Felsay, Tayr Debba, Az-Zrariyah, and Jebchit.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), at least three more people were killed in a separate Israeli strike on the village of Jouaiya.
The Israeli military also issued forced displacement orders for residents of the southern Lebanese villages of Sohmor, Roumine, al-Qusaibah, Kfar Hounah, and Naqoura.
“It has been another violent day here in southern Lebanon,” Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto reported from the city of Tyre. “As the ceasefire is supposed to take effect, we are witnessing the exact opposite, with Israel intensifying its attacks,” he said.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “holding territory, clearing territory, protecting Israel’s communities, while fighting an enemy trying to outsmart us.”
Since the war resumed on March 2, at least 2,988 people have been killed and 9,210 injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Talks in Washington
Sunday’s attacks came after talks in Washington, DC, where Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend the ceasefire by 45 days, despite the original agreement, which began on April 17, never being fully implemented.
The third round of negotiations in the US capital followed the first direct meeting between Lebanon and Israel in decades, despite the two countries having no formal diplomatic relations.
The NNA reported that the ceasefire extension is meant to pave the way for a US-mediated security process starting on May 29, with the next round of negotiations scheduled for June 2 and 3 in Washington, DC.
Hezbollah has opposed direct negotiations, particularly while Israeli forces continue bombing and occupying parts of southern Lebanon following the ceasefire.
“The direct negotiations conducted by Lebanese authorities with the Israeli enemy have led them down a dead-end path that will result in one concession after another,” Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan said on Sunday.
“Neither they nor anyone else will be able to implement what the enemy wants, especially regarding the disarmament of the resistance,” he added, warning that the authorities were creating “very serious predicaments” for the country.
On Saturday, Hezbollah announced it had struck a military target in northern Israel after earlier claiming several operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
Humanitarian and Economic Crisis
The conflict continues to have devastating humanitarian consequences. Between March and April, more than 1.2 million people were displaced due to the fighting, according to the Danish Refugee Council.
The war is also pushing Lebanon’s economy toward collapse. Bassem El-Bawab, head of the Lebanese Business Association, stated that Lebanon has suffered more than $25 billion in direct and indirect losses since Israel’s war began in 2024.
He said around $12 billion would be required for reconstruction, warning that the figure could rise further if the conflict continues.
El-Bawab added that Lebanon is currently losing approximately $30 million per day in indirect economic damage, in addition to the direct destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure.
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