Israeli Strikes Kill Nine in Southern Lebanon, Worst Toll Since June Ceasefire

ANSAR, Lebanon —

Israeli warplanes killed nine people and wounded eleven in two strikes on southern Lebanon early Saturday, the worst single-day toll since a framework agreement in June was supposed to calm fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran.

The first strike hit a house on the edge of Ansar, in the Nabatieh district, around 4:30 a.m. local time, flattening the building and killing seven people, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. Three children and two women were among the dead, the news agency reported. Rescue crews were still searching the rubble for survivors, according to The Guardian.

Hours later, a second strike hit a home in the town of Deir al-Zahrani, killing two people and wounding nine, Lebanon's health ministry said. An Israeli drone also struck a motorcycle in the nearby city of Nabatieh, though it was not clear whether the rider was killed, The Guardian reported. Traffic clogged the roads out of Nabatieh as residents fled north, according to the Guardian.

Israel Says It Targeted Hezbollah Infrastructure

An Israeli military spokesperson, Ella Waweya, said the strikes on Ansar and Nabatieh targeted "Hezbollah infrastructure" in retaliation for an earlier attack by Hezbollah fighters on Israeli soldiers near the Ali al-Taher ridge, according to The Guardian. The Israeli military describes the ridge as high ground housing underground Hezbollah command centers and has been shelling the area for months. Neither Ansar nor Deir al-Zahrani sits inside the roughly 90-square-mile zone in southern Lebanon that Israeli forces still occupy.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strikes as "extremely dangerous" and said they threatened efforts to stabilize the south, according to The Guardian. "The seven martyrs of the Israeli strike on the town of Ansar were not 'military infrastructure,'" he said, adding that the women and children killed were not military targets. He called on Israel to halt the escalation, saying the security and right to life of Lebanese civilians "are not subject to negotiation or bargaining," according to BBC News.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said an entire family was killed in Ansar and accused Israel of repeatedly violating the June framework, according to BBC News.

Ceasefire Framework Under Strain

The June framework calls for Hezbollah to disarm, Israeli forces to withdraw gradually from southern Lebanon, and the Lebanese army to deploy across the region. Hezbollah was not a party to the deal and has refused direct talks with Israel. The group's leader, Naim Qassem, accused Lebanese authorities on Friday of pressuring the country's army while Israeli attacks continued, according to both outlets. Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are expected to hold an eighth round of talks in September, though no date has been set, BBC News reported.