Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 11 people, marking the deadliest attacks since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20. The strikes targeted homes in the villages of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani.
Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency reported that an airstrike on a house in Ansar killed seven people, including three children, and wounded two. A separate strike in Deir al-Zahrani resulted in four deaths and 17 injuries.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strikes, stating they intimidated residents and undermined stabilization efforts. "The seven martyrs of the Israeli airstrike on the town of Ansar are not military infrastructure and the children and women killed were not military targets," Salam said on X, emphasizing the Lebanese state's responsibility for dealing with military infrastructure.
Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, outlining a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah. This agreement aims for an eventual peace treaty between the two nations, which remain technically at war.
Hezbollah has not participated in direct talks and was not party to the deal. The group has refused to disarm and has accused the Lebanese government of making excessive concessions without guarantees of an Israeli withdrawal.
President Joseph Aoun stated that the strikes served as "a clear message to the negotiation track and to the American efforts aimed at implementing this agreement."
The Israeli military asserted that it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in response to an attack on Israeli soldiers. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Hezbollah violated the ceasefire by attacking soldiers, seriously wounding three. It stated the military targeted the Hezbollah headquarters responsible for the attack, later learning that Hezbollah "deliberately put civilians" in the compound. The Israeli military later identified one of those killed in the Ansar strike as Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, described as a battalion commander within Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force. The military noted his family was present and harmed but not targeted.
Hezbollah supporters on social media identified Hassan, his wife, three sons, and one daughter as casualties of the strike.
Intense Israeli airstrikes also hit the strategic Ali Taher hill, overlooking parts of the southern city of Nabatiyeh. Despite the truce, Israel's military has continued near-daily attacks in areas north of the Litani River, while large swathes to the south remain under Israeli control.
Hezbollah has called on the Lebanese state to halt "this aggression" rather than pursue U.S.-sponsored direct talks with Israel, which it characterized as "free gifts for the enemy despite the crimes and aggression it is carrying out." The group also stated that "the American side is a partner of the Israeli enemy in its crimes and massacres."
Previous incidents include the deaths of two Israeli soldiers in an explosion in southern Lebanon earlier in November, the first Israeli fatalities since the truce began. Hezbollah did not comment on that blast.
Lebanon and Israel have conducted seven rounds of talks, with the most recent occurring in Rome earlier this month. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2, following Israeli attacks on Iran. Since then, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have resulted in over 4,000 deaths, including hundreds of civilians, while approximately 40 soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.