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Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least seven people and wounded others on Saturday despite an ongoing ceasefire.
Lebanon’s state-run media reported deadly strikes in several villages as the Israeli army has been levelling neighbourhoods near the border over the past weeks.
The IDF claimed all 50 airstrikes carried by the Israeli air force over the past 24 hours targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, an Iran-backed militant group.
“IDF struck terror targets” in response to Hezbollah rocket fire at troops in Lebanon, according to The Times of Israel. No injuries on the Israeli side were reported.
Hezbollah confirmed the attacks on Israeli troops with a drone in a coastal village.
The military also released a video showing the destruction of a booby-trapped football stadium in the town of Bint Jbeil. The IDF issued a new warning for residents of nine southern villages to evacuate.
Israeli officials have said they intend to occupy parts of southern Lebanon, and the military has issued maps of a “forward defence line” that extends several kilometres into Lebanon and encompasses dozens of villages whose residents have not been allowed to return.
IDF: Target of demolition is Hezbollah, not civilians
The Israeli military said in a statement that the target of the demolition work is Hezbollah, not Lebanon or its civilians, and that it “operates in accordance with international law and does not destroy civilian property unless required by imperative military necessity.”
Because of security concerns and limited access, neither UN peacekeepers nor Lebanese officials have been able to conduct a detailed survey of the villages where demolitions are taking place. However, observers have described entire residential neighbourhoods in multiple villages being systematically destroyed.
“They were demolishing it gradually until they reached the main square, and now, as you can see, there are no more houses,” said Hassan Sweidan, a resident of a neighbouring village looking across at the town of Beit Lif, about 4 kilometres north of Lebanon’s border with Israel.
The fighting was mostly halted by a 10-day ceasefire that began on Friday. But both sides have carried out strikes since then. The supposed ceasefire was recently extended by three weeks.