Israeli strikes kill 9 in south Lebanon, together with 3 military officers, days after Washington ceasefire; Aoun calls it ‘flagrant violation of sovereignty’
Two Lebanese military officers and a soldier had been killed in an Israeli strike on a navy car in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese military mentioned, in an assault that killed 9 individuals in complete throughout a number of Israeli airstrikes and drew sharp condemnation from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who referred to as it “a flagrant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and worldwide legislation.”
The strikes got here simply days after Israel and Lebanon reached a recent US-brokered ceasefire deal in Washington — an settlement that Hezbollah has refused to simply accept.
The Israeli navy mentioned it had focused the car after figuring out what it described as a risk to its forces and receiving “concrete indications” that Hezbollah was making ready to fireside on Israeli troops from the world. “An preliminary inquiry indicated that two officers and a soldier within the Lebanese military had been contained in the car when it was struck,” the Israeli navy mentioned, including that the incident is being reviewed.
Lebanese Purple Cross personnel and rescue staff stand subsequent to a destroyed car after an Israeli airstrike on the street linking the town of Nabatiyeh and the city of Marjayoun, in Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP)
The Israeli navy burdened that “it operates towards Hezbollah and never towards the Lebanese military.”
What occurred: Two separate Israeli strikes
The Lebanese military mentioned the strike on the navy car occurred on the Khardali-Nabatieh street, some 70 km (44 miles) south of Beirut, on the street linking the town of Nabatieh with the city of Marjayoun.
These killed within the car strike had been a brigadier basic, a captain and one other soldier, the military mentioned with out instantly releasing their names.
A second Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Saksakiyah killed six individuals and wounded 4, the state-run Nationwide Information Company mentioned.
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The Israeli navy mentioned the focused car was “transferring suspiciously” towards Israeli troopers close to the village of Kfar Tibnit on the time of the strike.
Lebanese military’s response
The Lebanese military condemned the assault in unusually sharp phrases. “The continued, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression towards Lebanon, its individuals and its military solely strengthens our resolve, religion and dedication,” the military mentioned in its assertion.
It added that Israel’s assaults goal to thwart all efforts “to achieve an answer that might restore stability, set up a complete ceasefire and result in the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.”
The Lebanese military has largely stayed out of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and has not taken half within the combating in the course of the present battle.
President Aoun condemns ‘flagrant violation’
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strike, calling it “a flagrant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and worldwide legislation” that threatened stability in south Lebanon regardless of ongoing efforts to halt hostilities.
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Aoun mentioned the assault got here within the context of “ongoing escalation that threatens stability and safety within the south, regardless of the efforts Lebanon is exerting within the Washington negotiations to place an finish to the continued Israeli assaults with out a deterrent.”
Hezbollah condemns Lebanese ‘concessions’
Iran-aligned Hezbollah condemned the strike, calling it a deliberate assault and a part of what it described as Israel’s continued aggression towards Lebanon.
The group mentioned the assault was the results of what it referred to as the Lebanese authorities’ disregard for the nation’s sovereignty and a collection of concessions, together with what it described as acquiescence to Israeli calls for in Washington, which it mentioned had emboldened Israel.
Aoun-Iran trade
On Friday, Aoun and Lebanon’s prime minister had criticised Iran for opposing the most recent ceasefire deal between the Lebanese authorities and Israel, saying their nation shouldn’t be utilized by Tehran as a “bargaining chip” in its talks with Washington.
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Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi responded in a put up on X on Saturdaywriting: “One would assume it’s Iran that has occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced 1 / 4 of Lebanese and is bombing his nation on every day foundation.”
“Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal way back. Save Lebanon out of your actual foe, Mr President,” Araghchi added in a transparent reference to Israel.
How the conflict started
The present conflict started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after Israel and the US started their assaults on Iran. Hezbollah mentioned it was retaliating for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Chief initially of the US-Israeli conflict on Iran.
The battle has since killed greater than 3,500 individuals in Lebanon and displaced greater than one million individuals. Israel has launched a floor invasion of Lebanon and seized round a fifth of the nation, pushing additional into southern Lebanon than at any time for the reason that finish of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation. The combating has killed not less than 29 Israeli troopers and three civilians.
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The longer historical past
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah initially started after Hezbollah opened a entrance towards Israel in October 2023 in help of its Palestinian ally Hamas initially of the Gaza conflict. The battle escalated into a serious Israeli air and floor marketing campaign in Lebanon in 2024, killing a lot of Hezbollah’s senior management and inflicting widespread destruction within the nation’s south and japanese areas.
A US-brokered ceasefire took impact in November 2024, however Israel has continued to hold out strikes in Lebanon, saying its assaults are geared toward Hezbollah members and infrastructure.
The Washington ceasefire and Hezbollah’s disarmament
The newest ceasefire introduced in Washington happened by means of US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon’s authorities, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the nation into conflict and had made efforts to disarm the group earlier than the most recent hostilities.
Lebanon’s authorities has banned Hezbollah’s navy actions and has backed US-mediated efforts to safe a sturdy ceasefire, together with talks geared toward ending hostilities, securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and addressing the problem of Hezbollah’s weapons.
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Hezbollah has rejected proposals linking a ceasefire to its disarmament, saying Israel should first halt its assaults and withdraw its forces.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
