Israeli strikes killed 10 people, including a soldier, five members from one family and three civil defence rescuers in southern Lebanon, officials said, despite a US-mediated ceasefire.
The Lebanese army said the soldier was killed along with his brother on Wednesday, "in an Israeli air raid that targeted them in the town of Khirbet Selm, Bint Jbeil, while they were travelling on a motorcycle from the soldier's work centre to his home in the town of Al Sawana".
Lebanon’s National News Agency said five from one family were killed in an overnight air strike that hit a residential building in the southern town of Jibchit.
"The raid resulted in the destruction of the building and the martyrdom of Muhammad Jawad Bahjat and his wife Latifiya, Amani Jaber and her daughter Maryam Hilal Bahjat and her infant son Ali Al Rida Hilal Bahjat," the agency said.
Rescue and relief teams worked through the night to clear the rubble and recover bodies from the site, it said.
Separately, three rescuers were killed in a double-tap attack when Israeli jets struck as crews evacuated the wounded and retrieved bodies from an earlier attack in the southern town of Majdal Zoun that the Lebanese military said had wounded two service members.
The civil defence said rescue efforts were under way after three of its members were trapped under rubble in the first attack.
Such double-tap strikes – when the same location is bombed twice in quick succession, often with rescue workers on the scene – have been reported repeatedly in Lebanon.
Majdal Zoun lies outside the so-called “yellow line” boundary for land occupied by Israel. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called it “a clear war crime”. President Joseph Aoun said it showed Israel's continued violation of the international law protecting rescuers and civilians.
Israel had issued displacement orders to residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The strikes came despite a US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in recent weeks, which has left Israel occupying parts of the country.
Lebanon’s UN envoy Ahmad Arafa said on Tuesday that Beirut would not cede any territory to Israel and accused it of undermining mediation efforts and continuing attacks.
“We reiterate that the Lebanese government will not compromise on a single metre of Lebanese territory, and we will not accept any form of occupation,” Mr Arafa told the UN Security Council.
Lebanon remained committed to diplomacy aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire, but warned conditions on the ground were deteriorating, he added.
“While the diplomatic track is progressing and Lebanon is seriously engaged in that path, developments on the ground remain extremely dangerous,” he said.
He accused Israel of violating Lebanon's sovereignty through attacks inside the country.
“They are targeting civilians, medical personnel, hospitals, journalists, Lebanese security services and Unifil forces,” Mr Arafa told council members. Unifil is the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
“What’s more dangerous, in our view, is Israel’s undermining of the credibility of the guarantor states of the 2024 cessation of hostilities declaration,” he said. “These are France and the United States, and they are currently undermining the efforts undertaken by the United States aimed at de-escalation and advancing sustainable, peaceful solutions.”
