UPDATE 2 - 5 killed, 18 injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon

UPDATES WITH LATEST DEATH TOLL; ADDS MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK

By Wassim Seifeddine, Ikram Kouachi and Ahmed Asmar

BEIRUT (AA) - Five Lebanese were killed and 18 others injured on Friday in a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The strikes were part of a series of Israeli attacks that targeted multiple areas in southern Lebanon under the pretext of striking "Hezbollah-linked targets."

A drone strike targeted the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif in Nabatieh district, killing two people, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.

Earlier, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Kfar Tibnit killed three people and injured 18 others including eight women and six children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

Israeli warplanes struck the Sharafeddine Villa near Kfar Tibnit’s municipal building, reducing it to rubble, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

The deadly attacks followed a wave of air raids on the outskirts of Kfar Houneh in the Jezzine district, as well as on the Rihan Heights, Aaramta, and Sejoud in southern Lebanon.

The strikes came after the Israeli army claimed that two rockets had been launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory, an incident that Hezbollah denied any involvement in, reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire agreement signed in November 2024.

Israeli fighter jets also bombed and destroyed a building in the Hadath neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first Israeli strike on the area since the signing of the ceasefire agreement.

According to NNA, the Israeli army committed 45 violations of the ceasefire agreement in a day.

A fragile ceasefire had been in place in Lebanon since November, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Lebanese authorities reported over 1,300 Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including over 100 fatalities and more than 330 injuries.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after it refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.