Aoun condemns silence of France, US after Israel strikes on south

President Joseph Aoun has condemned the Israeli air strikes on five towns in southern Lebanon and "the silence of the countries who had sponsored" the ceasefire, which he said "encourages further aggression".

"The time has come to put an immediate end to these blatant violations of Lebanon's sovereignty," he said.

The Israeli military said it struck several weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah's elite Radwan force in southern Lebanon.

It said it would "continue to operate to eliminate any threat" to Israel.

The Israeli military had issued calls telling residents of the five southern towns of Mais al-Jabal, Debbin, Burj Qalawiya, Al-Shahabiya and Kfar Tibnit to evacuate "immediately", saying it would strike Hezbollah targets.

Ahead of Thursday's strikes, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had called for "maximum pressure" on Israel to stop its attacks on his country.