Large-scale Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon threaten fragile ceasefire as Washington boldly claims the Iran peace talks to stop another war are looking positive in the coming days
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon Friday killed at least 10 people, including six paramedics and a Syrian girl, Lebanon’s Health Ministry has claimed.
It was the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, US-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The first strike hit the village of Hanouiyeh, killing four paramedics working for Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Association and wounding two others including one paramedic, the ministry said.
Another strike on Friday morning on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed six people, including a Syrian child and two paramedics from the Al-Rissala Scouts Association, a paramedic group affiliated with Hezbollah’s ally, the Amal movement.
An additional six people were injured, including three paramedics and a Syrian woman. The Health Ministry said the two attacks “violated” international law.
On Thursday, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported 169 confirmed attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Lebanon, resulting in 116 deaths, since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began.
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The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence.
The attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have continued despite a US-brokered ceasefire. Earlier this week, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that the death toll in the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon surpassed 3,000.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the US and Israel started their attacks on Iran, a main backer of the militant Lebanese group. Also on Friday, the Lebanese army and the General Security Directorate issued statements declaring that their officers are disciplined, professional and loyal solely to their institutions and the nation.
The statements came a day after the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on a group of Hezbollah-affiliated legislators, state security officials and allies of the militant group.
They are being sanctioned for allegedly seeking to preserve the Iran-backed group’s influence over Lebanese state institutions and obstruct disarmament efforts. It was the first time Washington has sanctioned sitting Lebanese state security officials, one from the country’s General Security Directorate and the other from the military intelligence, both of them accused of providing Hezbollah with “illicit support” and intelligence during the ongoing conflict.
War between Lebanese Hezbollah, the main Iranian proxy force, and Israel since the Gaza war broke out following the October 7 atrocity led by Hames and its killer affiliates. Washington has since joined Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites and the military in a war that has cost the US taxpayer many billions.
It has also claimed thousands of lives and a fragile ceasefire could dissolve within days if US President Donald Trump orders more strikes and as peace talks falter.
