Israeli airstrikes killed at least 13 people across southern Lebanon on Wednesday, defying recent diplomatic efforts to establish a ceasefire. The attacks occurred less than 24 hours after Lebanese and Israeli envoys met in Washington, D.C., for the first direct contact between the two nations in decades.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that the strikes killed at least 13 people. In the town of Jbaa, an Israeli bombing of a family home killed a man, his wife, their son, and their daughter-in-law, according to NNA. The agency also reported four deaths in Qadmus and five in Ansariyeh.
Further south, Israel targeted vehicles in the coastal towns of Saadiyat and Jiyeh, according to NNA. France24 reported that smoke rose over the coastal city of Tyre as Israeli strikes rocked the region overnight and into Wednesday.
Political backlash in Beirut
The recent military escalation follows a high-stakes meeting in the United States hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While both sides described the talks as positive, Al Jazeera reported that Israel had previously ruled out discussing a ceasefire for the current conflict.
This war began on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire following the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The violence has already resulted in more than 2,000 deaths in Lebanon over recent weeks, according to Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr.
In Beirut, the diplomatic outreach has met with significant domestic resistance. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah criticized the Lebanese government’s decision to negotiate, stating that the 'option of negotiations with the enemy is wrong.'
Fadlallah accused the administration of 'squandering Lebanon’s political and military strength' and criticized the withdrawal of the Lebanese army from the south. He further alleged that the government's actions were 'inciting internal division' within the country, according to Al Jazeera.
Local residents expressed similar frustrations regarding the lack of security. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr noted that many people believe the government should not have sat down with Israel. Residents also questioned why the ceasefire established in November 2024 has not been upheld, given the frequent violations by Israel, according to Khodr.
While France24 reported that Israeli strikes in Beirut have eased since a massive bombardment last week killed over 350 people, the situation in southern Lebanon remains volatile. Israel has also issued new forced displacement orders for residents in the south, according to Al Jazeera.