Report: Renewed Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon despite ceasefire

WorldPolitics
20 Jun 2026 • 4:21 PM MYT
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Image from: Report: Renewed Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon despite ceasefire
FILE PHOTO - Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions in the southern Lebanese village of Sojoud. (is associated with: «Report: Renewed Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon despite ceasefire») Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israel on Saturday launched a series of new airstrikes in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire, killing at least nine people, Lebanese media reported.

On Friday, US government sources said Israel and Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia had agreed a new ceasefire after a major escalation in fighting between both had threatened to derail a US-Iran deal to end the conflict in the region.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said three people were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes on the town of Arabsalim in Lebanon's southern region of Nabatiyeh.

A fourth person was reportedly killed in an Israeli drone strike of a motorcycle in Nabatiyeh's al-Doueir town.

A Lebanese soldier was killed in another strike on the Kfar Roummane roundabout in Nabatiyeh, according to the agency.

NNA also reported that four people from one family were killed in an Israeli air attack in the town of Barich in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon.

The casualty toll could not be independently verified.

The Israeli army has not yet commented.

According to a US government official, a ceasefire has been in effect since 4 pm (1300 GMT) on Friday. The latest truce was violated several times just minutes after it came into effect.

Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin told the Times of Israel that, despite the ceasefire with Hezbollah, troops have "full freedom of action" to respond to any threat in any area. There are no restrictions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said Israel would not tolerate attacks on its soldiers or its territory.

The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is casting a shadow over negotiations between the US and Iran.

A bilateral framework agreement between Washington and Tehran actually stipulates a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.