Eleven people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, authorities say, in one of the deadliest days of attacks since an agreement aimed at reducing hostilities was announced in June.
Lebanon’s prime minister said seven people were killed in a strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar in the Nabatieh district, which state media reported included three children and two women.
Later on Saturday, another round of strikes hit the town of Deir al-Zahrani, killing four and wounding five others, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
Israel’s military said it had struck “Hezbollah terror infrastructure” in response to what it described as an earlier action against its soldiers.
Authorities say the strike in Ansar at around 04:30 (01:30 GMT) occurred where displaced families were living. Footage on social media shows large plumes of smoke permeating through the streets of the village as sirens ring out.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attacks, saying the seven civilians killed were not “military infrastructure”.
“Israel must halt this escalation,” he said. “For the security of our people and their right to life on their land are not subject to negotiation or bargaining.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the incident that had prompted its strike on Ansar took place in the Ali al-Taher Ridge, a strategic high ground overlooking much of south-eastern Lebanon and of the war’s most fiercely contested positions.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported a series of strikes around the ridge.
Near the border, several homes were reportedly destroyed in Bint Jbeil, while Israeli forces opened heavy machine gun fire towards houses, according to NNA.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah – the armed group affiliated with Iran – launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country’s south. Its forces continue to occupy roughly 5% of Lebanese territory.
The June ceasefire framework calls for Hezbollah to disarm, Israeli forces to withdraw gradually from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army to deploy across the area.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strikes that had killed an entire family in Ansar and its “repeated violations” of the framework, which he said sent a “clear message” to the US-led negotiations.
Hezbollah was not involved in the agreement and has rejected direct negotiations.
“The Israeli enemy must clearly understand that its attacks, violations and attempts to impose a fait accompli cannot continue, and will be met with an appropriate response in defense of Lebanon, its people, sovereignty and national dignity,” the group said in a statement on Saturday.
The IDF says it will continue to remove threats to Israeli citizens and soldiers operating in the security zone – the 10km-deep military buffer in southern Lebanon occupied by Israel.
Despite a reduction in fighting following the June agreements, Israeli strikes and demolitions in southern Lebanon have continued.
Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are set to meet for an eighth round of negotiations in September, but a final date has not been set.