Thank you for following our live today. Marked by deadly strikes on South Lebanon, and rocket fire towards Israel. Be sure to join us tomorrow for more updates as the situation unfolds.
Toll from the strike on Touline
Hezbollah announced the death of two fighters, Mohammad Ibrahim Choucair and Ali Rida Mohammad Salloum, in today's strike on Touline (Marjayoun). A member of Amal, Walid Sobhi Ghanaoui, was also killed in this raid, which resulted in five deaths and 11 injuries, according to the Health Ministry. According to our correspondent’s information, the other two victims were a father and his daughter, both Syrian.
South Lebanon
⚡ Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have resulted in eight deaths today, according to our correspondent.
South Lebanon
The toll from the Israeli strike on a building in Sour has risen to two dead and eight injured, reports our correspondent.
The Israeli army attacked “Hezbollah headquarters, terrorist infrastructure, terrorist operatives, missile launchers and weapon depots in Lebanon,” said the army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, on X.
“These airstrikes add to those carried out earlier in the day by the Israeli army,” he continued. He finally stated that the Israeli army “will continue to carry out strikes as long as necessary and take action to protect the citizens of Israel.”
Bekaa
According to a provisional report from the Ministry of Health, the Israeli strike on Hoch el-Sayyed Ali in Hermel resulted in five injuries. The Israeli airstrike on the locality of Sariine left one injured.
South Lebanon
The strike on Qleileh resulted in at least one death and three injuries, according to our correspondent.
Lebanon
Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Raggi confirmed that he had made diplomatic contacts to pressure Israel to calm tensions at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
“As part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation that occurred today in southern Lebanon, and in consultation and coordination with the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, I contacted several foreign and Arab foreign ministers and officials,” he emphasized on X. This includes Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Ati, EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs Natasha Franceschi.
“I asked for pressure to be applied on Israel to end the aggression and escalation and contain the dangerous situation at the southern border,” he continued.
Civil Defense teams are trying to extinguish the fire that broke out in the house targeted in Qleileh, according to our correspondent in South Lebanon.
According to rescuers, three passersby were injured.
The Israeli strike on Hoch al-Sayyed Ali caused injuries, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa.
🔴 The Israeli raid on Saksakieh hit an uninhabited building that had already been targeted during the war.
An Israeli strike targeted the area between the villages of Loubieh and Saksakieh (Saida), as well as the southern part of Saida.
In the Bekaa, the strike on Sariine targeted a house belonging to the Choumane family at the entrance of the village. The strike on Hermel hit the bridge connecting the Lebanese village of Qasr to Syrian territory.
According to Israeli army radio, around 50 Hezbollah targets have been attacked in two waves so far in Hermel.
According to our correspondent in South Lebanon, the first two floors were targeted in the Israeli strike on a building in Sour.
In the Bekaa, the raid on Sariine targeted a house belonging to the Choumane family at the entrance to the village. The raid on Hermel hit the bridge connecting the Lebanese village of Qasr to Syrian territory.
An Israeli strike targeted the area between the villages of Loubieh and Saksakieh (Saida), as well as the southern part of Saida.
An Israeli raid on Saksakieh hit an uninhabited building that had already been targeted during the war.
The Israeli strike on Hoch al-Sayyed Ali caused injuries, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa.
Civil Defense teams are trying to extinguish the fire that broke out in the targeted house in al-Qlailah, according to our correspondent in South Lebanon.
According to the rescuers, three passersby were injured.
South Lebanon
The Israeli strike on Touline (Nabatieh) this morning resulted in five deaths, including one child, and 11 injuries, according to the Health Ministry.
According to our correspondent in South Lebanon, the Israeli strike on a building in Sour targeted the first two floors.
According to Israeli army radio, around 50 Hezbollah targets have been attacked in two waves so far in Hermel.
Here are the localities targeted by the second wave of Israeli strikes on South Lebanon:
• Deir Qanoun al-Nahr (Sour)
• A valley between Sniyeh and Bouslaya (Sour) and Kfar Melki
• The city of Sour
• Jabal Mlita and Jabal Safi in the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah
• Wadi Aziyeh-Zebqine (Sour)
• A valley between Houmine el-Tahta and Roumine (Nabatieh)
• Qleileh, south of Sour
• Jabal al-Rihane (Jezzine)
• Mahmoudieh - Aishieh (Jezzine)
According to a provisional report from the Ministry of Health, the Israeli strike on a building in Sour injured four people. Rescuers reported one dead and seven injured to our correspondent in the South.
At least two people were injured in the Israeli strike on the Sariine Valley, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa.
🔴 In the Bekaa, at least three Israeli strike targeted Sariine el-Fawqa, Hermel and Hoch al-Sayyed.
According to our correspondent in South Lebanon, the raid on the village of Qleileh hit an inhabited house.
🔴 At least one person was killed and seven others injured in the Israeli strike that targeted a building in Sour, rescuers told our correspondent in South Lebanon.
South Lebanon
Israeli warplanes attacked forested areas between the villages of Roumin, Deir Zahrani and Houmin Fawqa, in the Nabatieh district.
Lebanon
Israeli warplanes carried out a strike on the outskirts of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, east of Sour, and the town of Mahmoudieh, near Aishieh (Sour), according to our correspondent in South Lebanon. Another strike also struck the Qleileh valley, south of Sour.
An Israeli airstrike also targeted Hermel, as reported by our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.
Bekaa
An Israeli airstrike targeted the village of Sariine in the Bekaa, according to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.
South Lebanon
An Israeli drone also targeted a car in Sour.
South Lebanon
Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes on Iqlim al-Tuffah (Nabatieh), according to our correspondent.
South Lebanon
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Taymour Joumblatt, stated that “respecting the ceasefire agreement and implementing Resolution 1701 are the only ways to avoid new military conflicts that could once again drag Lebanon into war.”
“This requires an Israeli withdrawal from the areas where it is still present so that the Lebanese state can extend its full authority, as it alone is capable of preventing security breaches,” the MP added.
He also condemned the “persistent violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty by Israel” and expressed hope that the government would continue to “strengthen state institutions.”
South Lebanon
The military wing of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) has denied any involvement in the rocket fire from South Lebanon toward Israel.
“A false report attributed to a television channel is circulating, claiming that the party’s military wing has claimed responsibility for launching rockets from South Lebanon toward Israel,” the SSNP said in a statement.
“We emphasize that this information is completely false and that the SSNP’s armed wing has no connection whatsoever to any rocket fire. It affirms the primacy of the role of the state, the government, and the army in stopping Israeli attacks on Lebanon and in any security plan,” the statement added.
South Lebanon
“We are alarmed by reports of an escalation at the Lebanese-Israeli border,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on X.
“We urgently call on all parties to show restraint. We must ensure that the cease-fire agreement paves the way for lasting peace,” he added.
A vehicle in front of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Ramiyé, South Lebanon, on March 5, 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
South Lebanon
As Israeli airstrikes hit several villages in South Lebanon on Saturday morning, following the first rocket fire toward Israel in more than three months, many residents of the South have expressed their determination to remain in their villages despite this new surge of tension.
➡️ Find their testimonies here.
South Lebanon: One injured in Yohmor al-Shaqif
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon left one person injured in Yohmor al-Shaqif, in the Nabatieh district. Earlier, the ministry had reported two deaths — including a young girl — and eight injuries in Touline, in the same region.
Rocket fire: Menassa 'opposes attempts to undermine the State’s efforts'
Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa emphasized Lebanon’s refusal to “return to the situation that prevailed before the November 2024 cease-fire” and stated that he “firmly opposes attempts to undermine the State’s efforts to consolidate security and stability throughout Lebanese territory, particularly along the southern and eastern borders,” with Israel and Syria respectively.
He confirmed that the Lebanese Army has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the rocket fire from South Lebanon and called on the “sponsors” of the ceasefire agreement to dissuade Israel from continuing its “violations and attacks under false pretenses.” Menassa stressed that the State “will continue to act on political, diplomatic and military fronts to ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty, the safety of its people, the integrity of its territories and the protection of its borders.”
Escalation in the South: Berri urges 'all parties' not to create 'pretexts for the enemy'
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri called for all Lebanese, especially local political forces, to "purify [their] political discourse, rally around the state and its constitutional, judicial, military and security institutions, and be aware of the dangers of creating pretexts for the enemy by stirring divisions," in an unprecedented call to Hezbollah. He warned that such divisions "open the country’s doors to threats aimed at striking Lebanon, destabilizing it, and undermining it as a model that stands in contrast to Israel’s racism."
He also called on the Lebanese Army, judicial and security authorities, as well as the committee monitoring the cease-fire, to urgently uncover the circumstances surrounding this morning’s events in the south, according to the state-run National News Agency.
He stressed that “the first and last beneficiary of dragging Lebanon and the region into a major explosion is Israel, along with its security and military apparatus, which has violated [UNSC] Resolution 1701 and the cease-fire provisions more than 1,500 times so far, while Lebanon and its resistance have fully adhered to all the terms of this agreement.”
Gaza
The Fatah spokesperson in Gaza has called on its rival, Hamas, to step down from power in order to preserve the "presence of Palestinians" in the territory, as Israel intensifies its military operations and threats to displace the population and annex parts of the Gaza Strip, AFP reports.
"Hamas must show compassion for Gaza — its children, its women and its men. We warn of difficult, harsh and painful days ahead for the people of Gaza," said Munther al-Hayek, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s party, in a message sent from Gaza to AFP.
Hayek called on the movement "to withdraw from the governing scene and fully understand that the battle ahead [if it chooses to remain in power] will lead to the end of Palestinian existence" in Gaza.
Rocket fire toward Israel: Hezbollah denies involvement
Hezbollah denied in a statement — its first comment on today's escalation — “any involvement in the rocket fire from southern Lebanon” toward Israel, condemning what it called Israeli “pretexts” to “continue its attacks on Lebanon, which have not ceased since the announcement of the ceasefire” on Nov. 27, 2024.
“Hezbollah reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and assures that it stands behind the Lebanese state in confronting this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon,” the statement read.
Israel
While relative calm has returned to southern Lebanon, two security sources told Israel Army Radio (GLZ) that the Israeli army “has not yet completed its response to the rocket fire toward Metula.”
“Further attacks are expected in the coming hours,” the sources said.
Here is a summary of the Israeli strikes carried out in southern Lebanon today: 18 airstrikes involving more than 25 missiles targeted the districts of Nabatieh, Jezzine, Saida, Sour, Bint Jbeil and Hasbaya.
Death toll from Touline strike revised downward by Health Ministry
While earlier reports from the mayor of Touline, South Lebanon, indicated that four people had been killed in an airstrike on a village shopping center, the Health Ministry has released a preliminary update lowering the casualty count. According to the ministry, the strike left two people dead — including a young girl — and eight others injured, among them two children.
Explosions heard in central Israel
Residents in central Israel — including Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan — reported hearing loud explosions, according to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. The newspaper added that “the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.”
Southern escalation: Hezbollah ‘not involved,’ according to media reports
Hezbollah has informed President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that it was not involved in the events in the South, after three rockets were launched toward northern Israel, prompting a violent response from the Israeli army, according to local television channel LBCI.
The group has not yet issued an official statement regarding today’s escalation.
According to LBCI, Hezbollah also conveyed to Aoun and Salam that it remains committed to the cease-fire, stands behind the Lebanese state, and rejects a return to escalation.
Israeli army claims to have targeted Hezbollah “rocket launchers and headquarters” in southern Lebanon
The Israeli army said it targeted "dozens of rocket launchers and a Hezbollah command center" in southern Lebanon, according to a post on X by its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee.
He added that "this morning’s rocket fire" toward northern Israel "constitutes a blatant violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to the citizens of the State of Israel, with the Lebanese state being responsible for upholding the agreement."
Gaza
Hamas has accused the United States of distorting the facts by claiming the Palestinian movement “chose war” after Israel broke the truce on Tuesday with heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and a renewed ground deployment, according to AFP.
“The claim that ‘Hamas chose war over releasing the hostages’ is a distortion of reality. The Palestinian resistance presented clear initiatives for a cease-fire and a comprehensive prisoner exchange,” the group said in a statement, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “rejected those initiatives” and “deliberately sabotaged them to serve his political interests.”
New strikes on southern Lebanon
An Israeli airstrike targeted the outskirts of Yohmor el-Chakif (Nabatieh district), while artillery fire hit an area between Mais al-Jabal and Houla (Marjayoun district).
🔴 Strikes on southern Lebanon: Preliminary toll
At least four people were killed in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a shopping center in Touline (Nabatieh), the village’s mayor, Malek Aouali, told our correspondent in the south. Rescue and clearing operations are still underway.
Israeli airstrikes targeting the outskirts of Kfar Melki, in the Saida district of southern Lebanon. Photo provided by Muntasser Abdallah.
Israeli airstrikes continue across Nabatieh, Jezzine, Bint Jbeil, Hasbaya and Saida districts
Airstrikes targeting the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah (Nabatieh) and Rihan (Jezzine) struck areas near Sejoud, Jabal Safi, Kfar Houne, the vicinity of the Mlita heights, Bassalia (Jezzine), and areas near Kfar Melki (Saida district), according to our correspondent.
Additional Israeli airstrikes targeted an open area in the Salhani sector of Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), the outskirts of Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya), Mahmoudieh (Jezzine), and the vicinity of the villages of Tayr Harfa and Jibbayn (Sour district).
UNIFIL warns of “grave consequences” if violence escalates in southern Lebanon
“UNIFIL remains deeply concerned about the potential for an escalation of violence after four rockets were observed being fired from Lebanon toward Israel in the Metula area around 7:30 a.m., prompting an immediate response from the Israeli Defense Forces,” Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
“We strongly urge all parties to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the progress made — especially in light of the threat to civilian lives and the fragile stability the region has experienced in recent months.”
Tenenti added: “Any further escalation in this unstable context could have grave consequences for the region. The situation remains extremely fragile, and we encourage both parties to respect their commitments. UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to carry out their duties across all positions.”
Southern Lebanon / Israel
A “wave of Israeli attacks” on Lebanon has begun, following rocket fire toward northern Israel, and is focused on southern Lebanon and the Nabatieh region, according to the Israeli army radio’s account on X.
Southern Lebanon
Israeli strikes on the Rihan heights (Jezzine) and the Iqlim al-Tuffah region (Nabatieh) are ongoing, according to sources from our local correspondent.
Yemen
The Houthis have warned that Ben Gurion Airport is no longer safe as long as the siege on Gaza continues, according to Haaretz.
Lebanon/Israel
“The Israeli army is currently striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon,” announced IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X.
Lebanon/Israel
⚡Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to strike “dozens of terrorist targets” in Lebanon, according to a statement cited by AFP.
Series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon
The Israeli air force carried out a series of strikes in southern Lebanon, targeting Touline (Marjayoun) — where a house was destroyed — as well as the Iqlim al-Tuffah region, the Rihane heights and Bassalia (Jezzine district). Explosions were heard as far as Saida.
Israeli artillery fire also targeted Wadi al-Assafir in Khiam (Marjayoun).
Southern Lebanon
The Lebanese Army announced that, following the rocket fire from Lebanon toward Israel, it had discovered "three improvised rocket launchers" in an area north of the Litani River, between Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun (Nabatieh district).
The Army said it had dismantled the launchers and is "taking the necessary measures to control the situation in the South."
South Lebanon: President Joseph Aoun calls to ‘put an end to any violation that could endanger the country’
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned what he described as “attempts to drag Lebanon back into the spiral of violence,” according to an official statement. Aoun said that today's events in the south — and the violations observed since Feb. 18, the deadline for implementing the truce conditions — constitute a “continued assault on Lebanon and a blow to the national recovery plan unanimously agreed upon by the Lebanese people.”
He called on all concerned parties in southern Lebanon, particularly the monitoring committee of the November 2024 agreement and the Lebanese Army, to follow developments “with the utmost seriousness to prevent repercussions and put an end to any violation that could threaten the country in these delicate circumstances.”
Finally, Aoun requested that Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal take all necessary measures on the ground to ensure the safety of civilians and investigate the circumstances surrounding the recent exchange of fire.
Lebanon
In a radio interview with the local station Voice of Lebanon, Lebanese Forces MP Ghassan Hasbani said that the firing of rockets from Lebanese territory toward Israel is an "attempt to drag Lebanon into a new war, ignite the borders, and put the army and the state at the forefront."
Hasbani stressed that “the army must take control of Hezbollah's weapons, whether by force or by consensus. Otherwise, this process will be entrusted to the Israeli in the south and the Syrian in the east, which is not acceptable to any Lebanese because it affects national sovereignty.” He also welcomed “Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's position on the resistance".
Southern Lebanon
The Israeli artillery fired three shells at Khiam (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent.
South Lebanon
Shortly after the missiles were intercepted in northern Israel, Israeli artillery fire hit Yohmor al-Shakif, in Nabatieh district, and the outskirts of Arnoun. So far, no casualties have been reported.
Israeli soldiers stationed along the border have also fired machine-guns and artillery against the villages of Hula and Markaba, as well as Kfar Kila, also in the Marjayoun district.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is assessing the army's response to the situation, according to a statement relayed by the army's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, who threatened that the military will "respond forcibly," while adding that there is "no change in the instructions for the home front."
South Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that his army would “respond accordingly” to the yet-unclaimed firing of three rockets on Israeli territory, and threatened that "Metula and Beirut will be treated the same way."
“We cannot allow firing from Lebanon on the communities of Galilee,” the minister said in a statement. “The Lebanese government bears responsibility for the firing from its territory. I have ordered the army to respond accordingly."
Northern Israeli residents were hesitant to return to home following the cease-fire. Local municipal leaders often criticized the Israeli government for failing to secure their safety and give residents the confidence required to encourage their return. In southern Lebanon, residents rushed to return home, defying even the Lebanese Army's order. Occupying Israeli soldiers shot and killed dozens of residents trying to reach their homes past Israel's agreed-upon withdrawal date.
Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam released a statement amid the renewed violence, urging for calm along the border and calling on the Defense Ministry and the U.N. to collaborate with him in trying to thwart another outbreak of violence.
Salam has communicated with Defense Minister Michel Menassa on the need to take all necessary security and military measures to ensure that “only the State has the power to decide on war and peace," and with U.N. coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, asking that the U.N. “redouble its international pressure on Israel to withdraw completely from the occupied Lebanese territories," citing U.N. Resolution 1701 and Israel's ongoing violation of its terms through this occupation.
He also recalled Israel's ongoing violations of the cease-fire agreement it had signed in October with Lebanon's previous government, under Najib Mikati, and which it continues to violate through bombardment, shelling, occupation and killing.
He warned against “resuming military operations on the southern border, as they risk dragging the country into a new war, which would be disastrous for Lebanon and the Lebanese.”
South Lebanon
According to information from L'Orient Today's correspondent in South, Muntasser Abdallah, three interceptor missiles exploded over the Israeli border village of Metula, opposite Odaisseh, in Lebanon's Marjayoun district, this morning. Israeli media reported sirens had been triggered in this village and cited the Israeli army saying its air force had intercepted three projectiles.
Residents of the area told L'Orient Today they had not heard any rocket fire preceding the interceptor missiles launched by the Israeli army. A source from the Lebanese Army told Al-Arabiya al-Jadeed that the military was patrolling the area where the rockets were supposedly launched from and investigating into the circumstances surrounding the attack against Israel.
Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of events in the region, focusing particularly on Israel's resumed bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as its ongoing attacks against southern Lebanon — despite having agreed to cease-fires with Hamas and Hezbollah in both regions.
In Syria, the new authorities carry on with the tenuous transition period and in Yemen, the U.S. has launched its own bombing campaign against the Houthis, who had been firing on Israel and on commercial shipping in protest of the Gaza war.
Catch up on yesterday's live coverage here. 👈
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