28 killed as Israel keeps attacking Lebanon despite US-Iran deal coming into force

At least 28 people were killed and several others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon since early Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, marking the deadliest escalation since the US and Iran signed an agreement aimed at ending war on multiple fronts, including Lebanon.

Israeli strikes after midnight targeted residential homes in the towns of Al-Sharqiyah, Harouf and Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district, causing casualties and leaving several people missing, NNA reported.

At around 2.10 am local time (2310GMT Thursday), Israeli warplanes launched a series of strikes on Nabatieh city, Kfar Tebnit, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and the Rayhan heights, according to the agency.

Several other strikes hit the Kfarjoz-Nabatieh area, the university neighborhood in Nabatieh and the Al-Baydar neighborhood in Harouf, killing eight people around 3 am (0000GMT), according to the news agency.

Another strike targeted the Al-Ashamiya area between Al-Sharqiyah and Doueir, destroying a house and killing four people, according to the agency.

In Kfar Sir, an Israeli strike killed three people, NNA reported.

At around 5 am (0200GMT), an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle near the Doueir municipality building killed one person and injured another, the agency said.

READ: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon

In a separate incident, an Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the Deir al-Zahrani-Nabatieh highway, killing one person and injuring another, according to NNA.

The death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Doueir rose to seven, the agency added.

In the Jezzine district of southern Lebanon, an Israeli drone strike in the Rihan area killed one person and injured another, NNA reported.

In eastern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes struck a farm in the town of Jamaliyeh, north of Baalbek, killing three people, according to the agency.

On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at ending the war between the US, Israel and Iran and halting Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Under the memorandum, Washington and Tehran are expected to hold negotiations for 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, in an effort to reach a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions.

According to the latest official figures, Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon since March 2 has killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873 others and displaced more than one million residents.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the latest conflict. During the recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.