At least 20 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, just one day after a ceasefire agreement was established with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and warned of retaliatory attacks in response to the ongoing strikes. According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, since March 2, Israeli attacks have resulted in 4,057 deaths.
The airstrike occurred on Saturday, the day after the ceasefire was enacted to curb months of escalating violence. Lebanon’s official news agency, NNA, reported the fatalities resulting from this strike. Israel claimed the action was in response to overnight missile attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
An Israeli military official stated that Hezbollah fired more than 50 missiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting retaliatory strikes targeting Hezbollah sites. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli fighter jets and drones conducted attacks across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. Meanwhile, Hezbollah asserted that Israel has violated the ceasefire hundreds of times and warned that such attacks would not go unanswered.
Regarding Israel’s defensive measures, a military official said that the armed forces acted only under revised instructions from political leadership aimed at enforcing the ceasefire and denied initiating any attacks independently. The official added that the Israeli military operated defensively within the boundaries of declared Israeli security zones. Hezbollah also affirmed its commitment to the ceasefire but warned it would resist any Israeli attempts to seize territory or expand control areas.
