Israeli warplanes struck multiple locations across southern Lebanon on Friday, killing at least 10 people, Lebanese health authorities reported, while Hezbollah launched an explosive drone that wounded two Israeli soldiers in the north. The exchange marked the latest flare‑up in a conflict that has continued for weeks despite a ceasefire in effect since April 17.
The Israeli military warned civilians near the southern city of Nabatiyeh to evacuate early Friday afternoon, saying that those close to Hezbollah facilities would be in danger. An airstrike on the village of Habboush around that time killed six people, including a woman and a child, and wounded eight, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The state‑run National News Agency reported that four more people were killed in strikes on three other villages.
By Friday afternoon Hezbollah had issued six statements claiming drone and rocket attacks on Israeli military positions. The Israeli military confirmed that a Hezbollah‑launched explosive drone fell near Margaliot in upper Galilee, lightly wounding two soldiers, and that another drone impact caused a fire. Hezbollah said it was responding to ongoing Israeli operations.
The strikes on Friday added to a toll that already included the deaths of five people — including a father, his three sons and a Lebanese soldier — whose bodies paramedics pulled from the rubble in the village of Kfar Rumman that morning. That airstrike had occurred late Thursday, the National News Agency said, and the soldier was identified as Ali Jaber.
Despite the dangers, residents have been returning to damaged homes after weeks of displacement. “We were displaced, we rented a house, but as you know the situation is very difficult,” said Umm Ali Khodor, a Tyre resident, standing outside her damaged apartment. “We could not continue so we returned to our home.”
The director of Jabal Amel hospital in Tyre, Dr. Wael Mroueh, said his facility was treating many wounded who initially fled but later came back to unsafe areas because they could not afford to remain displaced. “The dynamic was different from all the previous wars,” he said. “A large number did not find places and came back.” Mroueh added that the hospital, one of the last still functioning in the area, had enough supplies for a month and was relying on international organizations to maintain the chain.
The Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Xavier Castellanos Mosquera, condemned the targeting of its volunteers and medical facilities. He told the Associated Press that two Lebanese Red Cross volunteers had been killed and 18 wounded by Israeli strikes. He said volunteers had described hugging one another before medical calls “because they don’t know if they will return.” He added that ambulances had been “hit by bullets” during a rescue attempt for journalist Amal Khalil, who was killed by an Israeli strike last month. Mosquera also noted that the total number of