Israeli airstrikes kill eleven people in Lebanon, health ministry says
The attacks occurred in southern Lebanon on Saturday in the villages of Ansar and Deir El Zahrani.
The Lebanese health ministry has said 11 people, including three children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Listen to this article
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that seven people died after Israeli warplanes struck a house in the southern village of Ansar, while another four were killed in an attack on Deir El Zahrani.
The NNA also reported that 19 people were injured in the strikes.
A second airstrike on Deir al-Zahrani left four people dead and 17 others wounded.
The latest deaths and injuries bring the total number of people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the latest war began on March 2 to 4,000.
Read more: At least one dead and several more injured after Israel strikes Lebanon in 'breach of ceasefire'
Read more: Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in Lebanon, hours after ceasefire takes effect
The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure overnight in what it described as a security zone in southern Lebanon, following actions against its soldiers in the area.
The strikes are among the deadliest since a US-brokered truce framework was agreed, with Iran-backed Hezbollah responding that the attacks would be "met with what they deserve".
Hezbollah has previously been critical of the Lebanese government over claims it has made too many compromises with Israel without securing comprehensive commitments for Israeli withdrawal.
Approximatelly 40 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.
Hezbollah described the strikes in a statement as "an aggressive escalation" and a "brutal massacre committed by the criminal Israeli enemy against civilians".
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire and attacking Israeli soldiers, leaving three people injured.
"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack," the statement said. "Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strikes were a "clear message" aimed at the negotiations and US efforts to implement the framework agreement.
The agreement would leave Israeli troops in occupied southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army takes control of the area, terms which the group has rejected as surrender.