Key facts
- At least eight people were killed in an Israeli air strike on Harouf, Lebanon.
- Three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jamaliyah, Lebanon.
- Hezbollah rejected a US-backed ceasefire plan.
- The Israeli army reported one soldier killed in combat.
- Fighting has intensified despite a ceasefire.
At least eight people were killed in an Israeli air strike early Wednesday morning on the southern Lebanese town of Harouf, Lebanon's Civil Defense told Al Jazeera. The Lebanese health ministry also reported eight deaths from Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon and near the southern city of Tyre.
Hezbollah has rejected a US-backed ceasefire plan that was agreed upon by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, demanding Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon. The Israeli army stated that one of its soldiers was killed in combat.
Lebanese state-run media reported that more than a dozen people were killed in Israeli attacks on south Lebanon, including a civil defence rescuer, despite a ceasefire in place since April 17. An Israeli air strike in Toura killed four people, including two women, and injured eight others. The Lebanese Red Cross recovered the bodies of two missing young men following Israeli air strikes on Blat. Raids also hit the districts of Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, and Sidon. An Israeli army drone targeted a car in the Hasbaya district, killing a civil defence member. The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that 50 people were killed in the past 24 hours.
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, announced new forced evacuation orders for southern Lebanon. Fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continues despite the ceasefire, with Hezbollah launching missiles at a military base in northern Israel and targeting an army vehicle. Military activity has intensified along the coast with air and artillery strikes.
A second stage of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon was scheduled to be held in Washington on May 14 and 15, with the US Department of State mediating. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with diplomat Simon Karam to discuss preparations for these talks.
An Israeli airstrike killed three people in the Lebanese town of Jamaliyah, located near Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley in the east of the country, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported. The attack followed an Israeli military announcement claiming Hezbollah violated the ceasefire and stating it plans to keep up the attacks across the valley. Despite the recently brokered ceasefire, ongoing Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon since midnight have intensified.