Lebanese leaders have condemned the Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon that has killed at least 11 people in the worst attacks since the renewal of a ceasefire was brokered in June by the United States.
asserted
renewal → condemn → States
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to two truce agreements – June 4 and 26 – mediated by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
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Lebanon → agree → administration
The June 26 framework agreement did not specifically call for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and instead tied it to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
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agreement → call → Hezbollah
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The agreements came after another truce announced in April had unravelled.
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truce → urge → April
Both the ceasefires, opposed by Hezbollah, have not stopped the Israeli military from expanding its control over Lebanese territory and carrying out deadly attacks.
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ceasefires → oppose → attacks
An Israeli escalation came as the Lebanese government is planning to hold another round of talks with Israel next month.
So what is behind the latest Israeli escalation, and where do the talks stand?
Here’s what we know:
What happened?
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said at least 11 people, including several children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes in the southern district of Nabatieh.
asserted
people → come → Nabatieh
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that seven people were killed and three wounded when Israeli warplanes struck a house on the outskirts of Ansar village, destroying the building.
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warplanes → report → building
Four other people were killed in a strike on the village of Deir al-Zahrani.
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people → kill → Zahrani
“This is an area seen by people as safe, but an air attack has now hit.
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attack → see → people
We are seeing many demolitions.
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We → see → demolitions
They are erasing towns and villages in the south,” he said.
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he → erase → south
“There are villages, especially those on the border with Israel, that have been completely erased, including graveyards and historic monuments,” he added.
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he → be → graveyards
The Israeli army carried out an air strike on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh district near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort Castle.
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army → carry → Castle
Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed flames and smoke rising from the area between the Ali al-Taher hills and the Dabsha area amid the sound of explosions.
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flames → verify → explosions
Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s TV channel, said the blasts were a result of Israeli air attacks in the area while the Nabatieh news channel reported that the raids took place near the town of Kfar Reman.
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raids → say → Reman
The area has seen increased Israeli army activity in recent days and weeks after a lull following the June truce.
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area → see → truce
Israel said the area has strategic significance and it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
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it → say → infrastructure
Explosions have also been reported in Lebanon’s southern towns of Bint Jbeil and Taybeh, according to the NNA.
uncertain
Explosions → report → NNA
Israeli drones also targeted the outskirts of the town of al-Mansouri.
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drones → target → Mansouri
Artillery shelling was reported in the towns of Sarbin, Barashit, al-Mansouri and Wadi Zibqin.
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shelling → report → Sarbin
What has Israel said?
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Israel → say → What
The Israeli military claimed the attacks were carried out in response to what it described as an action by Hezbollah against Israeli soldiers at the Ali al-Taher Ridge.
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it → claim → Ridge
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on X that the Israeli military responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack”.
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which → say → attack
It added that “only later” did the Israeli military “learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound”.
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Hezbollah → add → compound
Israel has repeatedly targeted civilians in Lebanon and during its genocidal war in Gaza, but it often claims that armed groups operate from civilian areas.
uncertain
groups → target → areas
These claims have been proved to be wrong on most occasions.
uncertain
claims → prove → occasions
The Israeli military also said it killed Abu Hassan Alaa, whom it described as a senior commander in Hezbollah’s “Badder Unit”, and Hezbollah commander Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan in its strikes in southern Lebanon.
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it → say → Lebanon
Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claims.
uncertain
Hezbollah → comment → claims
Ziad Abu Rish, an associate professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Bard College in the US state of New York, told Al Jazeera most observers believe Netanyahu wants to escalate strikes on Lebanon “to demonstrate an undeterred resolve” to occupy the country’s south and to “pummel” Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians.
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Netanyahu → tell → Hezbollah
He said Saturday’s attacks follow “a pattern that has been in place since the so-called ceasefire” in which Israel is “allowed by the US” to attack Hezbollah and civilians in Lebanon “without any consequences”.
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Israel → say → consequences
He noted that Israeli forces have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon since March 2 and wounded more than 12,000.
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forces → note → 12,000
About 90,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed while roughly 600,000 people remain displaced.
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people → damage → ?
March 2 was the day the latest Israeli escalation in its war on Lebanon began.
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escalation → begin → Lebanon
It started after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for United States-Israeli air strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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that → start → Khamenei
“People’s lives have been broken,” Abu Rish said.
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Rish → break → ?
“And it is clear that the Israeli policy has been to collectively punish the Lebanese population and in particular Shia majority parts of Lebanon and south Lebanon as it wages a campaign not just against Hezbollah but against the Lebanese people.”
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it → punish → people
The professor added that Israel’s actions in Lebanon should also be put in the context of what is happening in Gaza.
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what → add → Gaza
Israel has killed more than 1,200 people in Gaza since an October “ceasefire”.
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Israel → kill → ceasefire
“We saw that Israel was able to continue its genocide in Gaza with no consequences,” he said.
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he → see → consequences
“So people should really not be surprised to see that it is really able to carry out a campaign of effectively depopulating and making south Lebanon uninhabitable, as has been documented by numerous journalists and human rights organisations.”
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Lebanon → see → journalists
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
