Israel launched a series of strikes on southern Lebanon that killed at least nine people on Tuesday, while Hezbollah claimed new attacks on Israeli troops, only hours after US President Donald Trump announced that the two sides had agreed to stop fighting.
Strikes continued overnight in southern Lebanon despite a phone call between Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the two leaders reportedly agreed that Hezbollah and the Israeli army would stop “shooting at each other”.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington issued a statement saying that Hezbollah had confirmed a “mutual halt of attacks” after a call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A strike on Marwaniyeh killed six people and wounded four others. Two people were killed in a drone strike on their vehicle in Briqaa, and a Syrian man was killed in a strike near a hospital in the village of Toul.
In the Saida district, 40km south of Beirut, a man and his two children were killed as they were heading south from the children's exam centre.
Two Lebanese soldiers were wounded in a strike on their vehicle in Nabatieh on Tuesday afternoon.
Hezbollah claimed four overnight attacks on Israeli tanks in the towns of Odaisseh, Al Balou and Al Bayyada.
Panic as residents flee
In Tyre, the largest city in southern Lebanon, several strikes were reported, including one near Jabal Amel Hospital, which caused extensive damage to the medical centre on Monday evening. Four people were killed and 50 were wounded, according to a preliminary toll.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would strike “terrorist targets in the Dahieh district of Beirut” in response to Hezbollah’s “repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon”.
Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee then issued a forced displacement order for Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut. It prompted large numbers of residents to flee towards the centre of the capital, causing severe traffic congestion and widespread panic.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military faced no restrictions on its operations in Lebanon and that the US would not prevent Israel from defending its northern communities. He adding that the military could strike “anywhere necessary” inside the country.
Mr Trump then called Mr Netanyahu in an effort to prevent the strikes, in what was described as “one of the worst calls since Mr Trump returned to office”, Axios reported, quoting a US official.
During the call, the US President reportedly called the Israeli leader “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude, saying he would “be in prison if it weren’t for me”, referring to his past public support during Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
A new round of talks is expected to take place on Tuesday between Lebanese and Israeli delegations in Washington in an effort to reach a ceasefire between the two countries.
