Beirut: Israeli drone strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least eight people on Tuesday, including a father and his two children, escalating tensions despite renewed diplomatic efforts to reduce hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The attacks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to scale back fighting following mediation efforts aimed at preventing further escalation in the region.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on the road connecting the southern town of Marjayoun with Nabatiyeh, killing dentist James Karam from the Christian town of Qlayaa along with his son and daughter.
In a separate incident, the Lebanese army said two of its soldiers sustained minor injuries after a drone strike targeted them near the city of Marjayoun.
Additional drone attacks were reported across southern Lebanon. Two Syrian nationals working at a plant nursery were killed in Jibchit village, while two others died in a strike on nearby Toul. Another attack near Harouf claimed one life. The NNA also reported that six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Marwaniyeh on Monday.
The latest violence follows heightened tensions on Monday when Israel threatened to strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, prompting panic among residents and forcing thousands to flee to safer areas. Hezbollah responded by launching rockets toward northern Israel.
However, after discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communications with Hezbollah through intermediaries, President Trump announced that no Israeli ground forces would enter Beirut.
“There will be no troops going to Beirut,” Trump said, signaling a temporary easing of tensions around the Lebanese capital.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops advancing toward the southern Lebanese village of Hadatha, located about seven kilometers from the Israeli border. The Israeli military reported that warning sirens sounded in several northern communities after a suspicious aerial target was detected, though no casualties were reported.
Despite a ceasefire brokered by Washington in April, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have continued, with both sides accusing each other of violating the truce. Israel maintains that its strikes are carried out in self-defense against Hezbollah positions.
The renewed fighting comes as Israeli and Lebanese negotiators prepare for a second round of talks in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lebanese officials are expected to push for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that would prevent future attacks and stabilize the border region.
The negotiations, which began in April, mark the first direct discussions between Israel and Lebanon in more than three decades, despite the two countries lacking formal diplomatic relations.
The conflict has also complicated broader efforts to extend a ceasefire linked to the ongoing Iran war, which erupted after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Tehran has insisted that any broader regional agreement must include a complete cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has so far rejected direct negotiations with Israel, relying instead on diplomatic pressure from Iran and regional mediators.
According to Lebanese authorities, the latest round of fighting has killed more than 3,400 people in Lebanon and displaced over one million residents. Israeli officials say at least 27 soldiers, a defense contractor, and two civilians have been killed since the conflict intensified.
Israel’s military also announced late Monday that one soldier was killed and seven others wounded during operations in southern Lebanon. Military officials acknowledged that Hezbollah’s use of hard-to-detect fiber-optic drones has posed a growing challenge to Israeli forces operating near the border.
