At least 11 people were killed and 21 wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, a day after Israel declared a new combat zone covering a large swathe of the country's south and ordered residents to evacuate.
Israel's military on Wednesday declared all areas south of the Zahrani River a combat zone, warning it would act "with great force" against Hezbollah and advising residents to evacuate north of the river. The Zahrani River runs east to west about 40 kilometres north of Israel's border with Lebanon, placing roughly 2,000 square kilometres of Lebanese territory within the declared zone. The declaration came after more than 120 strikes hit Lebanon's south and east on Tuesday alone, despite a ceasefire announced on 16 April.
Thursday's strikes concentrated on the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre. An early morning strike hit a building in Sidon, killing five people. A second strike on a vehicle in the same area killed six more, including two children and both of their parents. Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported that the victims of the vehicle strike were a family displaced by the fighting. Israel also struck Beirut on Thursday, the first attack on the Lebanese capital since 6 May.
The World Health Organisation has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the April ceasefire took effect. Israel's strikes on Lebanon form part of a broader regional escalation, with Iran saying it targeted an American air base in the Middle East as a "serious warning" to Washington after US forces carried out new strikes on southern Iran overnight.
Israel says its operations target Hezbollah infrastructure and personnel. Lebanon has not commented on the latest Israeli justifications for the strikes.
