Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least eight people on Tuesday, including a father and his two children, according to reports from France 24 and El Financiero. The violence continued across the Nabatieh district, causing widespread destruction and multiple injuries, despite claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah had agreed to dial back hostilities.
Diplomatic tensions between Washington and Jerusalem have intensified following the strike. According to Cooperativa, which cited reports from Axios, President Trump rebuked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday, telling the Israeli leader, "You're fucking crazy." The outburst reportedly followed Netanyahu's insistence that he would authorize strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut if Hezbollah did not cease its attacks on northern Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel had previously refrained from targeting Beirut to facilitate ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations, which aim to link a ceasefire in Lebanon to a broader regional agreement. However, Netanyahu informed Trump that his stance remained unchanged, prompting the current escalation. While the Lebanese government confirmed that Hezbollah had agreed to a cessation of fire, Netanyahu later declared on social media that Israel would resume offensive operations in Beirut if the group continued its strikes.
Hezbollah has maintained its offensive, launching dozens of projectiles and drones against Israeli military positions and civilian areas. This ongoing exchange has created a volatile environment in the Lebanese capital, where thousands are fleeing in panic due to threats of an Israeli strike on the city's southern suburbs. Israeli forces are currently conducting their deepest military incursion into Lebanon in 26 years.
The conflict has jeopardized high-stakes diplomatic efforts, including a second round of talks between Israeli and Lebanese negotiators scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. These discussions, which began in April, represent the first formal dialogue between the two nations in over three decades. Hezbollah, however, has rejected direct participation in these talks, relying instead on pressure from Iran.
Compounding the diplomatic crisis, Iran announced it is pausing its own negotiations with the Trump administration in retaliation for the Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory. The fighting in Lebanon now serves as a significant obstacle to the nascent agreement the U.S. is attempting to broker to stabilize the region.
