Israeli Airstrikes Kill 19 in Lebanon Despite Fragile Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 19 people Tuesday, including four women and three children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, as near-daily attacks from both sides persist despite a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the casualties or specific incidents but said that between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, it had struck more than 25 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon.

The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began March 2, when the Lebanese militant group fired rockets into Israel, two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

In Beirut, the government reported that a single strike on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed 10 people, including three children and three women. Three others were wounded, including a child.

The ministry provided no further details about the strike, but the state-run National News Agency said it destroyed a house, leaving several people trapped under rubble. Their bodies were recovered later in the day.

According to the ministry, another airstrike on the southern city of Nabatieh killed four people and wounded 10, including two women. A third strike in the nearby village of Kfar Sir killed five, including one woman.

The latest deaths came a day after the death toll in the conflict surpassed 3,000, and two days after the U.S.-brokered truce, in place since April 17, was extended for 45 days.

Israel has since invaded southern Lebanon and bombarded Beirut and other areas, saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah, both a militant group and a powerful political force in Lebanon, has resisted pressure to disarm, including from the Lebanese government.

More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the fighting, with some sheltering in tents along roads and the Mediterranean coast in Beirut.

Israel, meanwhile, has struggled to halt frequent Hezbollah drone attacks targeting its troops on Lebanese soil and northern Israeli border towns.

Israel’s military said one of its soldiers was killed Tuesday in battle in southern Lebanon, raising the Israeli troop death toll to 21 since the conflict started.