Israel strikes Lebanon despite extended ceasefire agreement

Beirut, Lebanon – Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed at least seven people on Monday, despite the recent extension of a US-backed ceasefire agreement.

The attacks on Monday came three days after Lebanese and Israeli officials held talks in Washington, D.C., agreeing to extend the ceasefire by an additional 45 days. Israel has repeatedly violated the original ceasefire deal signed in April.

Among the dead on Monday were Wael Abdel Halim, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, and his 17-year-old daughter, Rama. The father and daughter were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment building in the town of Douris, in the Baalbek district of eastern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

At the Jalil refugee camp for Palestinians on the outskirts of Baalbek, dozens of mourners marched through the camp following the attack.

Israeli strikes also continued across southern Lebanon, with bombardments recorded in Hanaway, Dibal, Deir Ammar, Deir Amess, and Meirka in the Tyre district, according to Al Jazeera’s correspondents on the ground. Additional attacks were reported in Harouf and several other areas in the south.

Ongoing tensions

The talks last week to extend the ceasefire marked the third round of US-mediated negotiations, beginning with the first direct meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in decades.

Under the agreement, a US-backed security channel was scheduled to begin on May 29, with another round of talks set for June 2-3 in Washington, D.C.

However, the new diplomatic efforts did not prevent Israeli hostilities, which the military said targeted Hezbollah — a group that has publicly opposed negotiations with Israel.

Israeli forces have repeatedly bombed southern Lebanon and maintained positions in the area, while the Lebanon-based armed group also remained active in the conflict.

Hezbollah said on Monday it had targeted an Israeli bulldozer with a drone near Deir Siryan and shot down an Israeli military reconnaissance drone in the same area. The group also claimed it had fired rockets at a concentration of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in Rashaf, southern Lebanon.

The continued hostilities have affected Lebanese civilians. On Monday, the Israeli military ordered residents of the southern villages of Harouf, Borj El Chmali, and Debaal to leave their homes ahead of planned attacks.

Such instructions for civilians to move to open areas before attacks have become increasingly common, effectively amounting to forced displacement.

Israel said it struck more than 30 targets across southern Lebanon, claiming these sites belonged to Hezbollah, including weapons depots, observation posts, and buildings used to coordinate attacks.

In a statement on social media, the Israeli military also said it had killed several Hezbollah fighters who were preparing a “terror plot” against Israeli forces.

Forced displacement

Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto, reporting from Tyre in southern Lebanon, said the bombardments had increased despite the extended ceasefire.

“This is another violent day in southern Lebanon,” Hitto said. “Israel started the day with evacuation orders for four towns and villages in the south of the country. Then it carried out attacks on two of these locations.”

“Attacks were also recorded in Az-Zrariyah, targeting a moving vehicle, while another airstrike in Tayr Debba resulted in significant casualties.”

According to Hitto, Israel has concentrated its firepower over the past two days in the western Bekaa Valley, the Marjayoun district, and the Nabatieh district, targeting villages such as Yohmor, Yohmor Shgeir, Zawtar el-Charqiyeh, and Sohmor.

“There have also been more attacks by Israeli fighter jets and drones around the city of Bint Jbeil,” he said.

“All of this has led to a major humanitarian crisis with more than a million people displaced. The situation is worsening as Israel issued another five forced displacement orders tonight, forcing large numbers of people to flee areas previously not targeted or considered safe.”

“And all of this is happening while the ceasefire is extended. But we are seeing the exact opposite — an escalation from Israel in southern Lebanon,” Hitto stressed.

According to the Danish Refugee Council, more than 1.2 million people have been forced from their homes from March to April due to the fighting.