Dozens were killed in heavy Israeli strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify action against Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 31 people died in the latest attacks, including children, BBC reports.
The Israeli military reported hitting more than 100 Hezbollah sites and fighters in one of the heaviest bombardments since a US‑brokered ceasefire began in mid‑April.
Netanyahu told a security cabinet meeting Israel was “deepening our operation in Lebanon,” saying the IDF was deploying large forces, seizing terrain, and fortifying a security zone to shield northern communities.
The ceasefire has been repeatedly violated, threatening talks to end the war involving the US, Israel and Iran. Israeli air and artillery strikes continue daily in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah launches rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israeli troops in occupied areas.
Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to Lebanon, where an 17 April truce has failed to stop fighting that began when militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in early March.
Netanyahu on Monday vowed to “crush” Hezbollah, and an Israeli military official told AFP the following day that the country’s forces were expanding their ground operations deeper inside Lebanon.
Work on a peace deal between Washington and Tehran is still ongoing, with Iranian state broadcaster IRIB saying a top delegation returned from a two-day visit to Qatar on Tuesday while Iran said it was finalising a 14-point framework for a deal on ending the war.
In a telephone conversation with Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was “ready to reach a respectful framework to end the war,” according to IRIB.
