Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 17 in Lebanon Despite Ceasefire

Israeli drone strikes near Beirut killed four people and a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13, including a man and his 12-year-old daughter, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry and state media. The attacks occurred despite a ceasefire that has nominally held since April 17, following a 10-day truce later extended by three weeks.

Two of the strikes near Beirut targeted vehicles on the highway linking the capital to Sidon, wounding several, while a third in the Chouf region killed three, the National News Agency reported. In southern Lebanon, an airstrike on Saksakiyeh killed seven, including a child, and wounded 15; strikes in Bourj Rahhal and Maifadoun killed four. In Nabatiyeh, a Syrian man and his daughter were killed in a sequence of drone strikes after surviving an initial blast, with the girl dying 100 metres from the first impact.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health condemned the attacks as 'barbaric' and a violation of International Humanitarian Law. The Israeli military confirmed Hezbollah launched explosive drones into northern Israel, wounding three soldiers, one seriously, and striking an Israeli vehicle inside Lebanon without casualties. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for multiple attacks, including a drone strike on a military post in Misgav Am.

The current conflict began March 2 after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, Hezbollah's main backer. Israel has since conducted hundreds of airstrikes and launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon. Direct Lebanon-Israel talks, the first in over 30 years, resumed recently amid a formal state of war dating to 1948.

A new round of ceasefire negotiations is scheduled to begin Thursday in Washington. Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus to discuss bilateral security cooperation, reaffirming Lebanon would not be used to threaten Arab neighbors.