11 Lebanese civilians killed as Israeli strikes resume

ALBAWABA- Israel resumed airstrikes and military raids across southern Lebanon on Thursday, killing at least 11 civilians and triggering retaliatory rocket fire from Hezbollah toward northern Israel.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that six civilians were killed when an airstrike struck a residential building in Maaroub, in the Tire District. Five more people were killed in a separate strike on Qana. Additional raids targeted the towns of Al-Qalila and Siddiqin, while a drone strike hit the city of Tyre. 

The Israeli military said it had destroyed a rocket launcher during the operations.
Air raid sirens later sounded in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, according to the Israeli Home Front Command, following rocket launches from Lebanese territory.

The escalation comes despite a fragile 15-day truce between the United States and Iran, and hours after ceasefire talks in Islamabad collapsed. Lebanese officials said Israeli operations had briefly eased during the negotiations but resumed immediately after their failure, describing the strikes as a violation of the broader de-escalation effort.

In a televised address last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the campaign, stating that Israeli forces had established a 10-kilometre buffer zone inside southern Lebanon, alongside similar arrangements in parts of Syria and the Gaza Strip. He said the zones would remain in place “for as long as necessary” to ensure Israel’s security.

The situation in Lebanon was a key point of contention in the Islamabad talks, with Iran insisting that any future agreement must include a halt to Israeli operations, while the United States maintained that Lebanon was not covered under the bilateral truce.

Lebanese authorities have renewed calls for urgent international intervention to enforce a comprehensive ceasefire, warning that continued strikes risk reigniting broader regional conflict.