Israel strikes south Lebanon after first evacuation warning in weeks
Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring 12 others, in what its military described as a response to a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire by Hezbollah. The strikes, including the first evacuation warning issued in the area for over a month, come amid fragile efforts to uphold the November ceasefire and coincide with US-sponsored talks in Rome between Israeli and Lebanese officials aimed at preserving the truce.
A man was killed and 12 people injured when a prayer hall roof at a cemetery in Tibnin was hit, while further strikes hit buildings in Mansouri, prompting residents to flee towards Tyre. An Israeli military source said the action followed the Lebanese army establishing a checkpoint in Mansouri, which lies within Israel's declared "security zone", allegedly in breach of the ceasefire terms. The evacuation order was the first since 14 June, when 29 towns were told to flee. Hezbollah has rejected the broader disarmament framework agreed by Israel, Lebanon and the US in June. The UN says over 820,000 displaced people in Lebanon have begun returning home, though some 360,000 remain displaced. The conflict has killed at least 4,333 people in Lebanon, including 392 women and 253 children, with 353 deaths recorded since the ceasefire.
- Israeli strikes in south Lebanon kill one, injure 12 people
- First evacuation warning issued in over a month, in Mansouri
- Hezbollah rejects ceasefire disarmament terms; Rome talks ongoing
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Israel and Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese group and political party, fought a war in late 2023-2024 that ended with a ceasefire in November 2025. Under that deal, Hezbollah was meant to pull its forces back from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army was to take over security there, while Israel agreed to withdraw its troops, though it has kept forces in parts of the border area it calls a "security zone." Since then, Israel has carried out repeated strikes it says target Hezbollah activity, while Lebanon and Hezbollah accuse Israel of violating the truce by staying on Lebanese territory and continuing attacks.
The ceasefire remains fragile and is being propped up by outside diplomacy, including talks in Rome involving the United States, which helped broker the original deal and continues to mediate between Israel and Lebanon. A separate sticking point is a June framework calling for Hezbollah to disarm, which the group has refused to accept, leaving open the question of who controls weapons and territory in the south.
The stakes are significant for civilians in southern Lebanon, where the war caused mass displacement and thousands of deaths. Although many of those forced from their homes have started to return, hundreds of thousands remain displaced, and continuing strikes raise the risk of a fuller collapse of the ceasefire.