Israel carried out airstrikes across southern Lebanon, killing one person, despite a previously reached US-brokered ceasefire agreement. Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported the victim was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Maarakeh in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.
According to Al Jazeera correspondent Heidi Pett in Beirut, Israeli airstrikes throughout Friday (local time) and into the night targeted towns and villages north of the 'Golden Road' — an area in southern Lebanon Israel had previously sought to control and occupy.
The attacks followed an announcement Friday by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the US and Iran had reached an agreement on the content of a deal to end the war in the Middle East, and mediators were working with both sides to finalize the agreement. Iranian media reported the initial deal would declare an end to the war 'on all fronts, including Lebanon'.
This raised concerns that Israeli actions in Lebanon could undermine the deal, as Israel is not a party to the US-Iran talks, and Israeli leaders have stated they have no plans to withdraw from Lebanon.
The attacks also occurred against the backdrop of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon reached earlier this month, requiring Hezbollah to 'completely cease' military activities, yet fighting has continued. The next round of talks between the two countries is scheduled for June 22, aiming for a comprehensive agreement.
In the early hours of Saturday (June 13), Israeli raids destroyed homes and government buildings in the town of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, according to NNA. The Israeli army also ordered residents of 20 towns and villages in Lebanon to immediately leave their homes and move 'north of the Zahrani River'. The list of affected areas includes Deir al-Zahrani, al-Namirieh, al-Sharquieh, al-Dewayr, Harouf, Habboush, Kfarjoz, Zibdine (Nabatieh), Nabatieh al-Tahta, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Rouman, Al-Mahmoudieh, Sajed (Jezzine), Reihan, Aaramta, Kfarchouba, Mlki, Al-Lawiza (Jezzine), Jarjouh, and Arab Salim.
On the same day, the Israeli military announced it had activated an airstrike warning in the northern town of Metula due to 'a hostile aircraft infiltrating from Lebanon', but did not specify the Hezbollah group.
