Numerous Israeli airstrikes killed many people in Lebanon despite an agreed ceasefire, with the Lebanese civil defence authorities saying they had recovered 16 bodies in the southern city of Nabatiyeh alone, Lebanese media reported on Saturday.
On Friday, US government sources said Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia had agreed a new ceasefire after a major escalation in fighting between the two had threatened to derail a US-Iran deal to end the conflict in the region.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said at least seven people were killed and 13 others injured in an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Qennarit.
Three people were killed in strikes by fighter jets on the town of Arabsalim in the Nabatiyeh area, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA).
It 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. A woman was also killed in a separate attack in the Tyre area, the agency reported.
According to the Lebanese army, a soldier was killed in an airstrike on the road between Kfar Roummane and Nabatiyeh.
The Lebanese military accused Israel of using its strikes to prevent any solution that would allow stability to be restored in Lebanon.
The casualty toll could not be independently verified.
Hezbollah said it had adhered to the ceasefire since Friday evening, and accused Israel of violating it.
The militia claimed, in a statement on Saturday, that its fighters on Friday night had foiled an infiltration attempt launched by the Israeli forces "under the cover of the ceasefire" towards the strategically important Ali al-Taher hill in Nabatiyeh.
Hezbollah said while it remains committed to the ceasefire, it "will not hesitate to confront any attempt by the enemy to seize land and expand its occupation."
The Israeli military, on the other hand, accused the Shiite militia of breaching the ceasefire agreement with an overnight launch of more than 50 projectiles towards Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.
In response, the Israeli army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon.
According to a US government official, a ceasefire has been in effect since 4 pm in the region (1300 GMT) on Friday.
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.
