Conflict & Security
Israeli strikes kill 29 in south Lebanon, officials say
Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have killed at least 29 people since Friday, Lebanese authorities and official media said, and Lebanon's army said Israeli escalation threatened a framework deal.
Lebanon's National News Agency said an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in Zebdine, in the Nabatieh region, killing a man on Wednesday. The reported deaths since Friday include 12 members of the same family.
The attacks have intensified since the Israeli army announced last week that it had captured the Ali al-Taher ridge, a strategic Hezbollah position in Nabatieh.
Earlier, Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Monday killed 13 people, including people in Kfar Rumman, a rescuer in the same town and one person in Rihan.
The Israeli military said Monday it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon after two explosive drones were launched toward its troops. It said claims that uninvolved people were harmed were being reviewed.
Fighting in Lebanon had eased after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding and an Israel-Lebanon framework agreement in June. Beirut still reports recurring Israeli strikes, which it says have killed more than 4,300 people since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a self-declared security zone in the south.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern on Tuesday about Israeli "escalation" in southern Lebanon, according to his spokesperson.
In an online petition, nearly 400 Lebanese public figures, including legal experts and human rights advocates, called for Lebanon's army to be deployed in Nabatieh and voiced concern over a possible expansion of Israeli occupation toward the city. The Lebanese army said Tuesday its units were deployed in all areas not occupied by Israel, especially in the Nabatieh region.
Update
Lebanon's army said Israeli escalation threatened the framework deal.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 15:57:53 UTC.
Update
Lebanon's National News Agency said an Israeli drone killed a man on a motorcycle in Zebdine in the Nabatieh region on Wednesday.
Lebanese authorities and official media now put the death toll from Israeli attacks since Friday at at least 29.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern on Tuesday about Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon, according to his spokesperson.
Nearly 400 Lebanese public figures called for Lebanon's army to be deployed in Nabatieh and warned of a possible expansion of Israeli occupation toward the city.
The Lebanese army said Tuesday that its units were deployed in all areas not occupied by Israel, especially in the Nabatieh region.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 14:05:15 UTC.
Update
Hundreds gathered Tuesday in south Lebanon to mourn people killed in Monday's strike on Kfar Rumman, including two Hezbollah members and members of their family.
A three-month-old infant was among those mourned.
Lebanon's health ministry said at least 28 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon since Friday.
The Israeli military said the claim that uninvolved people were harmed in Monday's strikes was being reviewed.
Kfar Rumman's deputy mayor said many residents had left again after the latest escalation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 11:15:16 UTC.
Update
Lebanon's health ministry said the death toll from Monday's strikes in southern Lebanon rose to 13.
The ministry said a later strike on Rihan killed one person.
The ministry said a strike on Nabatieh wounded nine people, including two children and three women.
Lebanon's National News Agency reported additional strikes in the Nabatieh area and controlled detonations of unexploded munitions in at least two parts of the south.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 19:23:04 UTC.
Update
The Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah member near the Beaufort fortress after he opened fire on its troops from inside a building.
The Israeli military said two IDF soldiers were lightly injured during the close-quarters encounter.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the claim that uninvolved people were harmed in the strikes.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 15:05:49 UTC.
Update
Lebanon's health ministry said 12 people were killed in the strikes.
The ministry said 11 people, including two children and four women, were killed in one attack on a building in Kfar Rumman.
The ministry said a separate attack in Kfar Rumman killed one rescuer and wounded another.
The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon after two explosive drones were launched toward its troops and after what it said were weapons transfers.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 13:43:04 UTC.
Update
The Israeli army said it would continue to "remove threats" after strikes on Lebanon.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 11:42:25 UTC.
Update
Israel's military said it was responding to Hezbollah's launch of two drones toward its soldiers inside Lebanon.
Hezbollah has not claimed any attack since June 20, according to the item.
Residents described returning to Kfar Rumman after the June truce and fleeing or evacuating during the latest strikes.
A Deir Zahrani resident said the Israeli army called him at 2 a.m. to leave before his house was destroyed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 11:23:06 UTC.
Update
Lebanon's National News Agency said nine people were killed when a three-storey building in Kfar Rumman was destroyed and two rescuers were killed when their car was targeted.
Rescue teams were searching the rubble on Monday morning.
Israel issued no warning before the Kfar Rumman strikes but issued an evacuation order before a separate strike in Deir Zahrani, where the NNA said a building was destroyed 22 minutes later.
Israel's foreign ministry accused Hezbollah of repeated drone attacks and trying to rebuild military capabilities in southern Lebanon.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 08:03:35 UTC.
Update
Lebanese state media reported that the overnight strikes killed 11 people, up from the previously reported nine.
The official National News Agency identified the village as Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon.
The agency said two infants were among those killed.
The agency said nine people were killed when one strike destroyed a three-storey residential building.
The agency said two rescuers in the area were killed when their car was targeted.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 06:25:51 UTC.
Update
Lebanese state media said an overnight Israeli strike on a southern village killed nine people.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 06:09:15 UTC.
Update
The Israeli army said an explosive drone had been launched toward its forces before the planned strikes.
The army did not specify whether any soldiers were wounded.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 01:12:55 UTC.
Update
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel later reported Israeli airstrikes on Deir Zahrani.
The Israeli army identified the target as what it called a Hezbollah facility.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 00:48:49 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The brief Lebanese army statement did not provide details on how the escalation threatened the framework deal.
The Israeli military said claims that uninvolved people were harmed were under review.
Source
AFP news report published on .