Beirut: Israeli forces struck multiple sites in southern Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire, while Hezbollah said Iran had assured the group it would not abandon its backing.
Hezbollah said deputy leader Naim Qassem received a message from Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, delivered via Pakistani mediators. The message, the group said, explained that the latest proposal to end the regional war “emphasised the demand to include Lebanon” in any broader ceasefire. Lebanon’s authorities, however, say their negotiations with Israel under US auspices must remain separate from Iran–US talks.
Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) and AFP reporters described several airstrikes in the south, some after Israeli evacuation warnings to about 15 villages. Lebanon’s military said one strike hit an army barracks in Nabatieh, wounding a soldier, and stressed its troops’ loyalty after Washington announced sanctions this week that included an officer accused of sharing information with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has continued attacks on Israeli targets in southern and northern Israel, including on Saturday when it struck Israeli air-defence systems across the border. The group said Araghchi’s message indicated Iran “will not give up its support” for Hezbollah.
Hospital Hit In Tyre
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed 3,123 peopl
e. It condemned an overnight strike that damaged Hiram hospital in the southern city of Tyre as “further proof of the Israeli enemy’s violation of humanitarian law”. An AFP correspondent saw shattered glass, blown-out ceiling panels and damaged medical equipment at the facility.
The hospital’s CEO, Dr Salman Aydibi, told AFP that about 40 patients were in the building when evacuation warnings were issued. “We took the patients to a safer location” elsewhere inside the hospital, he said, adding that no patients were harmed but some 30 staff sustained minor injuries. He said the hospital remained operational.
Israel said it targeted “Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Tyre”, adding that “prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians”. An AFP correspondent reported heavy damage at the targeted sites. “I don’t know what happened, it felt like doomsday,” said resident Wisam Baroud, who showed her damaged home.
Other Strikes & Casualties
Israel’s army also said it struck a Hezbollah compound in east Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hamas-aligned group Jamaa Islamiya and its armed wing, the Al-Fajr Forces, reported one of its members was killed in a strike.
Under the ceasefire announced by the United States on April 17 and recently extended, Israel reserves the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”. Israeli troops who entered Lebanon are also operating inside an Israeli-declared “yellow line” about 10 km deep along the southern border.
US Mediation & Sanctions
The United States has hosted three rounds of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel aimed at ending the conflict. Security talks are due at the Pentagon on May 29, and a fourth round of negotiations is planned for June. Hezbollah has rejected the direct talks.