Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah threatens retaliation

Israeli strikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes hit the villages of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani in southern Lebanon on Saturday, August 15, killing at least 11 people and wounding 19 according to Lebanon's health ministry. The strikes were the deadliest since a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect at the end of June. The Ansar area had previously been spared from Israeli attacks.

In Ansar, a dawn airstrike on a house killed seven people, including three children and two women. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said an "entire family" had been wiped out. A second strike on Deir al-Zahrani on Saturday morning killed four and wounded 17. An AFP reporter saw a destroyed house in Ansar. The attacks triggered a new wave of displacement, with cars clogging the highway northward throughout Saturday as frightened residents fled to safer areas fearing further airstrikes.

Commanders targeted

The Israeli military said it attacked Hezbollah "terror infrastructure" and killed two commanders. One was identified as Abu Hassan Alaa, a member of the Badr unit who was involved in a drone attack that severely wounded three Israeli soldiers, including an officer, at the Ali al-Taher Pass. The second was Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, a member of the Radwan elite unit. The Israeli army said it learned only afterward that Hassan's family was in the house with him, and that the family members were not the target of the operation.

Cycle of escalation

Israel described the strikes as a response to Hezbollah drone attacks in the security zone, a strip about 10 kilometres deep into Lebanon that the Israeli military controls unilaterally. Journalist Raviv Drucker of Channel 13 wrote on X that Netanyahu and the army justified the airstrikes as a response to a Hezbollah ceasefire violation, but that the Israeli military had been operating at the Ali al-Taher Pass to eliminate Hezbollah fighters in an underground bunker. Hezbollah viewed this as a ceasefire violation and responded with an explosive drone, which in turn triggered the Israeli airstrikes.

Political reactions

Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israel would defend its soldiers and civilians with full force.

No bill will be left unpaid. We will defend our soldiers and our civilians with full force.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of deliberately exposing civilians to danger. Hezbollah rejected the accusation and said a family had been "wiped out" on Netanyahu's orders. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the attacks an "extremely serious matter" that undermines stabilization efforts and demanded Israel end the "dangerous escalation."

Diplomatic outlook

Hezbollah threatened an "appropriate response" if Israeli strikes continue and attacked the Lebanese government for holding direct talks with Israel, which have been running since April under US mediation. Hezbollah called the negotiations "humiliating" and a "doomed bet," and labeled Israel and the United States "accomplices," accusing the government of making "gifts" to the enemy. The next round of negotiations on a peace agreement is planned for early September in Rome. Israel demands Hezbollah disarm before withdrawing from Lebanese territory, while the Lebanese government seeks an Israeli troop withdrawal. Hezbollah, which was not party to the June agreement, rejects disarmament. Israel and Hezbollah regularly accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, with the Israeli military maintaining an occupied land strip along the border that it describes as forward defense.