Latest news with #Israel-Hezbollah
Gulf Insider
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Israel Pummels South Lebanon In Biggest Airstrikes Since November Hezbollah Ceasefire
In an dangerous sign that hostilities involving Iran and Israel could quickly ratchet again, Israel on Friday is pounding southern Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah is entrenched, in the biggest escalation there since a November ceasefire was agreed to. Massive plumes of smoke have been observed over the region, with Lebanon's official National News Agency reporting that a residential building in Nabatieh was directly struck, resulting in the death of at least one person and the wounding of 21 more. Local media further says there over twenty strikes in only under 15-minutes, making it the most intense attack in well over six months. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed what it said were airstrikes targeting a 'significant underground project' used by Hezbollah. The statement touted that the site was 'completely taken out of use' following the strikes, But questions remain as the IDF said that it targeted a Hezbollah site identified as Beaufort Ridge, which actually lies some five miles from Nabatieh. 'In recent days, the IDF identified attempts by the Hezbollah terror organization to restore the site, and therefore the terror infrastructure in the area was struck,' the Israeli military said. The IDF further claimed the 'presence of this site and the attempts to reestablish it constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.' This statement suggests the Israel-Hezbollah truce could be on the brink of failure. This could also be the result of Israeli frustration at President Trump having enforced an Iran ceasefire – given that Israeli leaders were telling the public to expect 'weeks' more of air attacks on the Islamic Republic. As for current allegations of attacks on Lebanese residential buildings, Israel's military claims 'The IDF did not target any civilian building,' according to the IDF's Arabic-language spokesman. BREAKING | An Israeli drone bombs a house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, southern warplanes also bombed between the southern Lebanese villages of Zrarieh and Ansar. — The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 27, 2025 'According to the information we have, the building was hit by a rocket projectile that was stored at the site, and was launched and exploded as a result of the airstrike,' he said.
9 News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- 9 News
One killed and 11 wounded in intense Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Israel's air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern city in Lebanon on Friday (local time), in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted underground assets of the Hezbollah militant group. Shortly afterwards, an apartment building in the nearby city of Nabatieh was struck, killing one woman, wounding 11 and knocking out the building's top floor, according to Lebanon's state news agency. The state-run National News Agency reported that the woman killed lived in Germany and had come back to Lebanon less than a month earlier to visit family. People gather next to a car that was damaged in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town, south Lebanon. (AP) It wasn't immediately clear if she was a German citizen. The woman's apartment was hit by an Israeli drone strike, according to the report. The Israeli army, in a statement posted on X, denied targeting a civilian building. The statement said the building was hit by a Hezbollah rocket that had been stored at another location that was targeted by an airstrike and "launched, and exploded as a result." It blamed Hezbollah for storing weapons near residential areas. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Lebanese army soldiers inspect a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) Friday's strikes were more intense than usual. "We are steadfast no matter how much you bomb us with your fighter jets and drones," Hassan Ghandour, a Shiite cleric from Nabatieh, told The Associated Press at the scene of the building. Lebanon's president and prime minister condemned the Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, saying they violated the ceasefire deal. The airstrikes on the mountains overlooking Nabatieh came in two waves, and bunker busters were used, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said that four people were slightly wounded in the airstrikes outside the city. A bulldozer clears rubble near a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defence array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use. The Israeli army said that it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Hezbollah suffered significant losses on the battlefield during the war, which left more than 4000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction amounting to $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers. A man checks his destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh town. (AP) As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon and isn't allowed to have an armed presence south of the Litani River. Friday's airstrikes were north of the river. CONTACT US
Ya Libnan
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Israel strikes Lebanon in one of biggest attacks since November ceasefire
One person died and 21 others were injured, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Israel said it was targeting an underground Hezbollah site. By Rachel Chason , Suzan Haidamous , Mohamad El Chamaa and Lior Soroka BEIRUT — Israel pounded southern Lebanon with a series of airstrikes Friday in what analysts and officials on the ground said were some of the most significant strikes since Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November. Video showed massive plumes of gray smoke rising above a hilltop, and Lebanon's official National News Agency reported an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in Nabatieh. The Washington Post was unable to immediately verify who or what struck the residential building in Nabatieh; neither the Israel Defense Forces nor Lebanon's government responded to requests for comment. Lebanon's Health Ministry said one person was killed and 21 were injured during the strikes. The National News Agency reported there were more than 20 hits in under 15 minutes. The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli air force fighter jets targeted a 'significant underground project' used by Hezbollah in the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon. The site was 'completely taken out of use' following the strikes, the IDF said. Beaufort Ridge is about five miles from Nabatieh. In a separate Arabic-language statement , spokesman Avichay Adraee said the IDF did not target a civilian building. Instead, he said, a rocket, stored by Hezbollah inside the building, 'was launched and hit the civilian building' as a result of Israel's strike. Adraee accused Hezbollah of endangering civilians by not giving up its arsenal to the Lebanese government, saying he expected the Lebanese military to confiscateHezbollah's weapons. Lebanon's government, which has pledged to implement the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, condemned the attacks, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam saying they represented 'a blatant violation of national sovereignty … and pose a threat to the stability we are keen to preserve.' Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel 'continues to flout regional and international resolutions' and called on the international community to intervene. The Trump administration argues a ceasefire between Israel and Iran could help secure peace on Israel's other fronts , including Gaza, as well as lead to normalization agreements with some of Israel's Arab neighbors. But in southern Lebanon, even since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire seven months ago, Israeli strikes have remained a near-daily occurrence, analysts say. In its Friday statement, Israel said Hezbollah had been making 'rehabilitation attempts' in southern Lebanon; the November ceasefire deal required Lebanese forces to ensure that all Hezbollah infrastructure is removed from the area. Between Nov. 27 — the day after the deal was announced — and June 9, 172 Lebanese deaths and 409 injuries have been reported as a result of Israeli attacks, said Hussein Chaabane, a Beirut-based investigative journalist with Legal Agenda who has been tracking the strikes. Chaabane's toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Despite a mid-February deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw, the IDF has remained in five strategic positions in southern Lebanon close to the border. And entire areas in the south have become 'unofficial buffer zones,' where residents who dare to travel face sniper fire and drone strikes by the IDF, Chaabane said. He said the strikes on Friday were significant — and caused fear in the surrounding community — because of the size of the explosions. 'What is happening is more than just the ceasefire being violated,' Chaabane said. 'It is the transformation of the south of Lebanon. … It has become a de facto security strip.' The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Chaabane's report. Hassan Wazni, the director of Nabih Berri Governmental Hospital, said the strikes were so strong that they shook the ground, reminding him of the period of heavy strikes last year David Wood, a Lebanon analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that while some people in other parts of the country feel the war has ended, 'that has never been the case in southern Lebanon.' 'There is a feeling that the ceasefire doesn't protect them, that Israel is doing whatever it pleases in a military sense, and that the United States — which is the chair of the monitoring committee — is allowing them to do so,' he said. He referred to a committee including representatives from Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and the United Nations that is charged with monitoring violations of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Wood added that the longer the strikes continue and civilians are killed, the more frustration in southern Lebanon could grow, including with the new government for failing to protect its residents. 'The longer this goes on and the state can't protect them,' he warned, 'the more likely people are to turn to Hezbollah and groups like it that could emerge.' WASHINGTON POST
UPI
15 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
1 killed, 13 people injured as Israel steps up airstrikes on lebanon
At least one person was killed and 13 injured as Israel stepped up attacks on Lebanon. Photo by EPA/STR BEIRUT, June 27 (UPI) -- Israel escalated on Friday its attacks on suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, launching a series of air and drone strikes that hit mountainous areas and an apartment building. One woman was killed and 13 wounded in the attacks, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The official Lebanese news agency reported that Israeli jets carried out "wide and intense" air strikes on several hilltop locations in the Nabatieh district, using bunker buster bombs and causing massive explosions. Shortly after, an Israeli drone attacked an apartment building in the nearby city of Nabatieh, hitting and badly damaging the top floor where a woman was killed. Thirteen people were also injured in the attack. While ambulances rushed to the targeted sites, Israeli warplanes carried out a second round of bombing. Residents in Nabatieh reported a series of ongoing explosions as thick black smoke billowed into the sky. Initial security reports counted a total of 20 Israeli strikes launched on the area today. The Israeli Army confirmed that its Air Force jets struck a site in southern Lebanon used for "managing Hezbollah's fire and defense systems," according to Israeli English-language websites. Ynet quoted an Israeli Army spokesman as saying that the targeted site was" part of an underground project that was rendered unusable" by previous Israeli strikes. The spokesman said the site was attacked again Friday after the Israeli Army spotted attempts by Hezbollah to rehabilitate it "in blatant violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon." There was no immediate comment by Hezbollah on the Israeli claims. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel's continued violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement that ended 14 months of Israel-Hezbollah destructive war. Aoun accused Israel of "disregarding international resolutions" and all regional and international calls to "stop the violence and escalation in the region." He called on the international community to take "effective action" and end Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon. Israel, which refused to fully withdraw and retained five strategic positions inside south Lebanon, has kept on striking the southern region and other Lebanese areas since the cease-fire accord was achieved, killing dozens of Hezbollah field commanders and hitting suspected positions. Lebanon has been trying to consolidate its authority and regain its long-lost sovereignty following Israel's recent war that greatly weakened the once-powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah. In line with the cease-fire agreement that was brokered by the United States and France, the Lebanese Army has taken control of most of Hezbollah's positions and military facilities, pushing the militant group away from the border with Israel and preventing it from having a military presence south of the Litani River. Aoun has also initiated a one-to-one dialogue with Hezbollah to discuss ways of securing its total disarmament per the cease-fire terms. The Hezbollah-Israel war has killed or wounded more than 20,000 people since October 2023, when it started in support of Gaza. The Israelis' relentless strikes and bombardment caused widespread destruction estimated by the World Bank at $11 billion. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, requesting to renew the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, which is to expire on Aug. 31, for a year. The ministry confirmed in a statement released on Friday "Lebanon's commitment to the continued presence of UNIFIL and its cooperation with it," demanding Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territories it occupies and stop its ongoing violations. Lebanon's request came amid Israeli reports that U.S. officials are considering pulling Washington's support from UNIFIL in a bid to cut costs associated with its operations, and that Israel was backing ending its operations in south Lebanon.
The Hill
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
1 killed and 11 wounded in intense Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
NABATIEH, Lebanon (AP) — Israel's air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern city in Lebanon on Friday, in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted underground assets of the Hezbollah militant group. Shortly afterward, an apartment building in the nearby city of Nabatieh was struck, killing one woman, wounding 11 and knocking out the building's top floor, according to Lebanon's state news agency. The state-run National News Agency reported that the woman killed lived in Germany and had come back to Lebanon less than a month earlier to visit family. It wasn't immediately clear if she was a German citizen. The woman's apartment was hit by an Israeli drone strike, according to the report. The Israeli army, in a statement posted on X, denied targeting a civilian building. The statement said the building was hit by a Hezbollah rocket that had been stored at another location that was targeted by an airstrike and 'launched, and exploded as a result.' It blamed Hezbollah for storing weapons near residential areas. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday's strikes were more intense than usual. 'We are steadfast no matter how much you bomb us with your fighter jets and drones,' Hassan Ghandour, a Shiite cleric from Nabatieh, told The Associated Press at the scene of the building. Lebanon's president and prime minister condemned the Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, saying they violated the ceasefire deal. The airstrikes on the mountains overlooking Nabatieh came in two waves, and bunker busters were used, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said that four people were slightly wounded in the airstrikes outside the city. The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defense array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use. The Israeli army said that it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Hezbollah suffered significant losses on the battlefield during the war, which left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction amounting to $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers. As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon and isn't allowed to have an armed presence south of the Litani River. Friday's airstrikes were north of the river. ___ Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.
