16 more killed as Israel keeps attacking Lebanon

BEIRUT

Israeli bombing and artillery attacks on Nabatieh city and surrounding towns in southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people and wounded several others early Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Despite a U.S.-Iran deal coming into force that also envisages an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Israeli strikes after midnight targeted inhabited homes in the towns of Al-Sharqiyah, Harouf and Kfar Sir in Nabatieh district, causing a number of casualties and leaving some people missing, the agency reported.

Around 2.10 am (2100GMT), Israeli warplanes launched a series of strikes on Nabatieh city, Kfar Tebnit, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and the Rayhan heights, the agency said.

Around 3 am (2200GMT), airstrikes hit the Kfarjoz-Nabatieh area, the university neighborhood in Nabatieh and the Al-Baydar neighborhood in Harouf, killing eight people, according to NNA.

Another strike targeted the Al-Ashamiya area between Al-Sharqiyah and Doueir, destroying a house and killing four people, the agency reported.

In Kfar Sir, an Israeli strike killed three people, according to the report.

Around 5 am (0200GMT), an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle near the Doueir municipality building, killing one person and wounding another, the agency said.

On Wednesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” aimed at ending the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, and halting Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

Under the memorandum, Washington and Tehran are due to hold negotiations lasting 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, aimed at reaching a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions.

Israel has waged a large-scale offensive on Lebanon since March 2, killing 3,912 people, injuring 11,873 others and displacing more than 1 million, according to the latest official figures.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the latest conflict between the two sides. During the recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.