War in south Lebanon and truce in Washington
At least four people were killed Tuesday and 4 others wounded in strikes on south Lebanon.
Four people were killed in Kfarsir and two were wounded in a strike on their home. Two other people were wounded in a strike that targeted a car in Harouf.
Israeli strikes also targeted overnight into Tuesday Shehabiyeh, al-Rihan, Kafra, Kfardounin, Qalaway, al-Maashouq, Zawtar, Kfar Remman and al-Mansouri.
The Israeli army later warned the residents of the southern and eastern towns of Nabatieh Tahta, Toura, Habboush, Bazourieh, Tayrdeba, Kfarhouna, Ain Qana, Lebbeya, Jebshit, Shehabiyeh, Burj Shmali, and Houmin al-Fawqa to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes.
The death toll in Lebanon surpassed Monday 3,000, including 292 women and 211 children.
More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the fighting, with some sheltering in tents along roads and the sea in Beirut. Israel, meanwhile, has struggled to halt frequent Hezbollah drone attacks targeting both their troops on Lebanese soil and in northern Israeli border towns.
Hezbollah on Monday claimed attacks on Israeli troops, equipment, and drones and warplanes over south Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the group targeted Israeli troops and equipment in the southern border towns of Debel and Taybeh with attack drones.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have continued daily, even after groundbreaking ongoing talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington produced a ceasefire that began on April 17 and has been extended into June. Israeli troops remain in large swaths of southern Lebanon.
The ceasefire has been largely nominal so far, especially in south Lebanon, where strikes and clashes continue unabated, as if there were no truce.
- Negotiations press on despite fighting -
Israeli officials have focused on disarming Hezbollah and described the negotiations with Lebanon as a precursor to a potential normalization of diplomatic relations.
Lebanese officials have said they seek a security agreement or armistice that would stop short of normalization, focusing on Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon, while maintaining their commitment to disarming the Iran-backed group.
Despite the ongoing attacks, the two sides agreed Friday to extend the ceasefire by 45 days and announced that military delegations will take part in direct talks of their own on May 29.
U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly called for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Aoun has declined to go to Washington to meet or speak directly with Netanyahu at this stage — a move that would likely generate blowback in Lebanon, where talks with Israel were met with protests.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
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