The Japan Times - At least 9 killed as Israel pounds Lebanon despite truce

The fresh attacks were some of the most intense since the start of a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that has done little to halt daily exchanges of fire, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said Saturday that it had targeted troops in northern Israel with drones on at least two occasions in response to the continued strikes.

The Israeli military said "several" explosive drones were launched into Israeli territory, with one army reservist severely wounded and two others moderately injured in one of the attacks.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA), meanwhile, reported a series of Israeli strikes across the south, including one on the town of Saksakiyeh.

The health ministry said that raid "resulted in an initial toll of seven martyrs, including a girl, and 15 wounded, including three children".

The Israeli military said it struck "Hezbollah terrorists operating from within a structure used for military purposes" in Saksakiyeh.

It added it was "aware of reports regarding harm to uninvolved civilians in the structure in which the terrorists were struck. The details of the incident are under review."

The health ministry reported that another Israeli strike on a motorbike in the city of Nabatieh hit "a Syrian national and his 12-year-old daughter".

"After they managed to move away from the site of the first strike, the drone attacked a second time," killing the father, the ministry said, adding the drone then targeted the girl "directly for a third time".

The girl was undergoing life-saving surgery, it added.

In the southern town of Bedias, the health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike and 13 wounded, including six children and two women.

Israel's military had called on residents of nine villages to evacuate, saying it would act "forcefully" against Hezbollah, though neither of the two locations of the fatal strikes were included in the warnings.

NNA also reported that the "Israeli enemy launched two strikes on the Saadiyat highway", referring to a location around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Beirut and outside areas where Hezbollah has traditionally held sway. It later reported a third strike nearby.

- 'A new phase' -

Under the terms of the ceasefire released by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

Earlier on Saturday, its military said it had struck more than 85 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the past 24 hours.

Its troops are also operating inside an Israeli-declared "yellow line", running around 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Lebanon along the border, where residents have been warned not to return.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday warned of "a new phase, in which the resistance (Hezbollah) will not accept a return to pre-March 2".

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when it launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

Even before then, Israel had carried out regular strikes targeting the group -- accusing it of seeking to rearm -- in spite of a 2024 ceasefire intended to end the last war between the foes.

Until March, Hezbollah had largely refrained from firing back.

"When it attacks our villages and suburbs, the enemy must expect a response, and this is what the resistance is doing," Fadlallah said, alluding to an Israeli attack this week on Beirut's southern suburbs that it said killed a Hezbollah commander.

In addition to its drone attack in northern Israel, Hezbollah on Saturday also claimed several attacks on Israeli military targets inside Lebanon using rockets and drones.

Lebanese and Israeli representatives are set to hold a fresh round of direct talks in Washington next week.

A first meeting was held days before US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in Lebanon, and the second round as he announced a three-week extension.

Fadlallah said the meetings amounted to a "path of concessions", reiterating his party's call for the government to withdraw in favour of indirect talks.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,800 people since March 2, including dozens since the truce went into force, according to Lebanese authorities.

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K.Hashimoto--JT