Smoke rises from an area between Kafra and Siddiqine (Sour) following an Israeli strike on April 27, 2026. (Photo sent to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Israel continued its deadly strikes on southern Lebanon throughout the day on Monday, killing at least three people, following a deadly escalation in the region that resulted in a death toll of 14 people. At the same time, Israel targeted the Bekaa Valley for the first time since a very precarious cease-fire came into effect ten days ago.
Airstrike on the Bekaa Valley, demolitions in southern Lebanon
Israel carried out two deadly airstrikes today, alongside its ongoing demolitions in southern Lebanon and several airstrikes across the region, notably in the districts of Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Sour, and Nabatieh. In the morning, a drone strike hit Qleileh, a few kilometers north of the so-called "buffer zone" Israel seeks to establish in southern Lebanon, killing one person, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. And in the afternoon, an Israeli strike on Souaneh (Marjayoun) killed a couple and injured four people, including three children and their grandmother, according to information from our correspondent.
Israel also targeted the area known as Chaara, in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, on the border with Syria, reports our correspondent in the region. This was the first strike outside southern Lebanon since the truce came into effect.
Israel also continued its strikes throughout the day on towns in southern Lebanon, notably in the districts of Bint Jbeil and Nabatieh. It also continued its operations to demolish houses, notably in Taybeh, Robb Thalathin (Marjayoun), and Yaroun (Bint Jbeil).
In the wake of the Israeli strikes on Burj Qalaway, one of which killed three members of the same family in their home, the local council of this village in the Bint Jbeil district called on residents to delay their return to the village, particularly the elderly, the sick and families with children, “due to the continuing instability of the situation on the ground and the risks involved.” The municipality also announced the postponement of “all maintenance and cleaning work scheduled for this week in the village’s neighborhoods and streets.” Burj Qalaway is located just a few kilometers from the edge of the Israeli “buffer zone.”
Israeli security meeting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz. and senior security officials also held consultations on Monday regarding the situation in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s “cease-fire violations,” according to the daily newspaper Haaretz. The day before, the cease-fire had faltered amid mutual accusations between Hezbollah and Israel of “violating” the truce, and after an Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon.
For his part, a Hezbollah military official told Al Jazeera that the group “will employ tactics from the 1980s and deploy suicide attack squads to prevent the [Israeli] enemy from establishing a foothold” in southern Lebanon.
These developments come in the wake of a particularly violent Sunday, during which the Israeli air force struck 16 towns in the south, each on multiple occasions, whilst drones hit three other villages. Five further towns were also subjected to intensive artillery bombardment. These attacks left 14 people dead, including two children and two women, and 37 others wounded.
According to the Health Ministry, Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed 2,521 people and wounded 7,804 others, an increase of 12 deaths and 49 injuries compared to the official toll published the previous day.
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed responsibility for three attacks against the Israeli army in the afternoon, including one against two groupings of Israeli soldiers in Naqoura (Sour), using two explosive drones. The group claims to have inflicted “confirmed casualties” during this attack. It also claims to have struck a Merkava tank in the occupied town of Qantara (Marjayoun) and a D9-type bulldozer in Bint Jbeil (Bint Jbeil). The latter vehicle was “demolishing houses” in the main town of the border strip, which is also occupied by the Israeli army.
In northern Israel, air raid sirens warning of an infiltration of “hostile aircraft” sounded Monday at 7:40 a.m., according to the Israeli army, which said “a suspicious device launched from Lebanon was briefly tracked before contact was lost, with no injuries reported.” Additional alerts were triggered over fears of falling interception debris, while a second report turned out to be a false detection. Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since the morning.
Overnight, artillery fire hit Arnoun in the Nabatieh district, while in the evening Israeli aircraft bombed a wooded area in Ali al-Taher, on the outskirts of Nabatieh Fawqa, as well as an area between Siddiqine and Jabal al-Botom in the Sour district. A demolition operation was also reported in Khiam (Marjayoun).
On Sunday, Israeli military aircraft struck 16 villages in the south, each several times, while drones hit three other villages. Five additional villages came under intense artillery shelling. These attacks killed 14 people, according to the Health Ministry, including two children and two women, and wounded 37 others.
For its part, Hezbollah claimed five offensive operations on Sunday, the last of which took place around midnight, targeting “vehicles and soldiers of the Israeli army on Tall al-Nahas hill, on the outskirts of Kfar Kila” in the Marjayoun district, “using a guided missile.” The group’s attacks killed an Israeli soldier on Sunday, the army confirmed. It had previously claimed several strikes on Taybeh in the same district, including the use of an explosive drone during an evacuation of wounded following an earlier strike in the area.
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