Israeli Air Strikes in Southern Lebanon Leave at Least 14 Dead Amid Escalating Violence

At Least 14 Killed in Israeli Air Strikes Across Southern Lebanon

Israeli air strikes have killed at least 14 people in southern Lebanon amid fears that the continuing violence could threaten the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun condemned the continuing Israeli attacks, saying targeting state institutions would not deter Lebanon from defending its sovereignty.

Al Jazeera's Obaida Hitto reported that Israel has been launching 'non-stop' strikes across southern Lebanon since the morning, with the death toll likely to increase as civil defence continues to search for survivors in the rubble.

Earlier, an Israeli air strike on the southern town of Hannawiya killed one person and wounded another, while Israeli forces destroyed residential areas in Aita al-Shaab, with additional attacks on al-Majadel in the Tyre district.

Hezbollah responded by firing rockets towards towns in northern Israel, including Kiryat Shmona, Metula, and Misgav Am, with the group saying 'these attacks would continue until the Israeli-American aggression against the country and the people stopped.'

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had received assurances that two hospitals in Beirut included in an Israeli forced evacuation order would not be attacked, with about 450 patients remaining inside Rafik Hariri University Hospital and Al Zahraa Hospital.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the situation in Lebanon is rapidly becoming a food security crisis amid Israeli attacks, with food becoming increasingly unaffordable due to rising prices and higher demand from displaced families.

A senior Lebanese official said Lebanon intends to join a meeting next week in Washington with US and Israeli representatives to discuss and announce a ceasefire, but a senior Lebanese source said the planned talks will be preliminary.

The humanitarian toll continues to rise, with the UN children's agency, UNICEF, warning that escalating attacks are having a devastating and inhumane toll on children, with 33 children reportedly killed and 153 injured in the latest violence.