Israeli air blitz kills 11 in south Lebanon

At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, Lebanon's health ministry said.

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure overnight in what it described as a security zone in south Lebanon in response to actions against its soldiers.

Seven people were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a house in the southern village of Ansar, while four others were killed in a strike on the village of Deir El Zahrani, Lebanon's official National News Agency said.

Nineteen people were wounded in the attacks.

The strikes were among the deadliest in the weeks since Lebanon agreed to a U.S.-mediated peace framework with Israel. The deal leaves Israeli troops inside occupied southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army takes control, terms the Iran-backed group has rejected as surrender.

NNA also reported several other airstrikes across southern Lebanon, including on a strategic area north of the Litani River known as Ali al-Taher hill. One Israeli airstrike, targeting a valley next to Ansar, was the deepest strike into Lebanon in two months.

In a statement, Hezbollah said the attacks on Lebanon would be "met with what they deserve".

The seven killed in Ansar included three children and two women, state news said.

In a statement on X, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire and attacking Israeli soldiers leading to three injuries in the so-called security zone. The office appeared to acknowledge that civilians were hit, but accused Hezbollah of using human shields.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack," the statement said. "Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound." Reuters