Israeli strikes kill eight in Lebanon after Trump’s claim of de-escalation deal

Israeli airstrikes killed at least eight people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, including a father and his two children, as the Tel Aviv regime continued its attacks on the country.

The deadly strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop “all shooting.” 

However, fighting showed little sign of easing, with Israeli forces carrying out fresh attacks across southern Lebanon and Hezbollah responding by retaliatory rocket and drone attacks against Israeli military positions and settlements in the occupied territories.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone strike hit a vehicle on the road linking Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh, killing a Lebanese dentist, James Karam and his two children.

In a separate attack, two Lebanese soldiers were wounded when an Israeli drone targeted an area near Nabatiyeh, the Lebanese army said.

On Monday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes killed six people, including a woman and two children, in the town of Marwaniyeh in the Sidon district. The attack also wounded a woman, a child and four other people.

Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah through intermediaries.

He claimed that “there will be no troops going to Beirut,” referring to Israel’s recent threats of a ground offensive.

“Let’s see how long that lasts – Hopefully it will be for eternity!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The US president contacted the warring sides after Tehran warned that a renewed offensive in Beirut would prompt a response from Iranian armed forces and derail an already shaky ceasefire with Washington. 

The Lebanese embassy in Washington said the proposed arrangement would not amount to a full ceasefire, though.

According to the embassy, it would require Israel to refrain from striking Beirut and its southern suburbs while Hezbollah would halt attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah rejects partial ceasefire, insists on comprehensive halt to Israeli aggression: Lebanese MP

Hezbollah has refused any partial ceasefire proposal and is demanding a comprehensive halt to hostilities across all Lebanese territory.

After Trump’s announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would continue military offensives in southern Lebanon, where ground forces are pushing toward the Zahrani River. His statement made no mention of a new ceasefire.

Israeli war minister Israel Katz also said in a post on X that Netanyahu had informed Trump that Israel would strike Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah continued targeting northern occupied territories.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the resistance group would support a comprehensive ceasefire across Lebanon as a precursor to the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Lebanese authorities also said they would seek to expand the ceasefire framework in talks with Israeli officials in Washington on Wednesday, which Beirut hopes could pave the way for renewed efforts to end the regime’s attacks on the country.

The latest escalation in Lebanon comes amid broader regional tensions stemming from the joint US-Israeli war against Iran.

Tehran has warned that continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon could undermine efforts to reach a wider diplomatic settlement and restore stability across the region.

Despite repeated announcements of ceasefires and de-escalation arrangements, Israeli military operations in Lebanon have continued.

Hezbollah has maintained that it will continue retaliatory attacks against the occupied territories as long as Israeli attacks on the Lebanese territory persist.
 

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