Israel intensifies South Lebanon strikes, killing 13 after weeks-long lull

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized Israel on Monday for undermining a US-brokered agreement aimed at ending hostilities following deadly strikes that killed 27 people in southern Lebanon over the past three days. Aoun condemned Israel's repeated attacks, which resulted in the deaths of children, women, and the destruction of homes and property.

These actions, he stated, were unjustified crimes that undermined the framework agreement and efforts to halt the escalation in southern Lebanon and the broader region. Rescue teams were still retrieving bodies from the rubble on Monday morning, following a night of heavy Israeli strikes in the area. At least 12 people, including a child and two women, were killed overnight, with a total of 11 people killed on Sunday and four on Friday.

Israel's intensified military operations followed its seizure of the strategic Ali Al Taher ridge, which lies north of the border where Israeli forces maintain a security buffer zone. The Israeli army claimed the attacks targeted a Hezbollah command center in a building previously used as a hospital, though this could not be independently verified.

The Israeli military's recent actions come despite the framework agreement signed on June 26, which called for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory in predetermined zones in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament and the Lebanese army's assumption of control. Despite the agreement, Israeli forces have continued advancing in southern Lebanon while negotiations over its implementation have been slow.

The latest escalation aimed to consolidate Israel's position on Ali Al Taher, seen as Hezbollah's last major defensive position. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared the capture of Ali Al Taher as the completion of sealing off the security zone in southern Lebanon.