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An Israeli airstrike struck a residential area in southern Lebanon early Saturday, killing seven people and injuring three others, according to Lebanese state media. The attack on the village of Ansar represents one of the most lethal strikes since Israel and Hezbollah established a fragile ceasefire on June 20. Local emergency responders continued excavating through debris as search and rescue operations unfolded at the scene.
Israel and Lebanon’s government formalized a “framework agreement” on June 26 that outlined conditions for Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. The deal also established a pathway toward eventual peace negotiations between the two nations, which have technically remained at war for nearly 80 years since Israel’s founding. The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah declined to participate in direct negotiations and has not signed onto the accord.
Saturday’s airstrikes also targeted Ali Taher hill, a strategic position overlooking the southern city of Nabatiyeh and major supply routes, Lebanese state media reported. Despite the truce agreement, Israeli military forces have maintained nearly daily bombing campaigns in the region north of the Litani River, a de facto boundary where southern areas remain under Israeli military control.
The conflict escalated significantly when Hezbollah launched cross-border rocket fire on March 2, two days after U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have claimed more than 4,000 lives since then, with hundreds of civilian casualties. Israeli forces have reported approximately 40 soldier deaths and three civilian deaths, including a military contractor.
Hezbollah has rejected disarmament calls and criticized the Lebanese government for making excessive concessions without securing ironclad Israeli withdrawal guarantees. Earlier this month, two Israeli soldiers died in a southern Lebanon explosion, marking the first Israeli military casualties under the ceasefire terms. Lebanon and Israel have completed seven rounds of negotiations, with the most recent talks occurring in Rome.
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