Israeli Strikes Kill 19 in South Lebanon Amid Clashes

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 19 people on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry, as renewed clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah were reported despite a ceasefire in place.

The ministry said the dead included civilians, among them children and women, following a strike on the town of Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district. Several others were injured in separate attacks across southern areas, with residential buildings and public infrastructure damaged.

Local media and photographers reported multiple strikes across Tyre and Nabatieh provinces, where buildings were destroyed and smoke was seen rising from impacted sites. In one area, upper floors of a residential structure collapsed after an airstrike, damaging nearby homes and vehicles.

The health ministry also said a primary healthcare centre run by a Hezbollah-linked organisation was destroyed in an earlier strike, while another attack in Nabatieh hit a busy neighbourhood with shops, homes, and a mosque.

The Israeli military said it had issued evacuation warnings for several towns in southern Lebanon and parts of the eastern Bekaa region ahead of the strikes, though the town hit hardest was not included in those warnings.

Separately, the Israeli army said it intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon.

Hezbollah said its fighters engaged Israeli forces attempting to advance near Haddatha and claimed to have destroyed an Israeli tank. The group also reported additional attacks on Israeli positions and air defence systems near the border.

Lebanese civil defence officials said seven people were briefly unaccounted for after an Israeli incursion in the south. Four were later released, while three remain in custody.

The escalation comes as cross-border hostilities continue despite ceasefire arrangements, with both sides accusing each other of violations and maintaining military pressure along the border region.