Israeli airstrikes kill 12 in eastern Lebanon despite ceasefire
Share on Messenger
Share on Messenger
Share on X
Share on Whatsapp
Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people in eastern Lebanon, according to a Lebanese security source - the attacks being the deadliest in the area since the US-brokered ceasefire between the two countries last November.
The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by Hezbollah and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region.
Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.
Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the Radwan force.
Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah condemned the Israeli attack on Bekaa Valley, describing it as a "major escalation of ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon". It made no mention in its statement on whether some of its fighters were killed in the strikes.
There was no immediate public response from the Lebanese government.
The US has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting air strikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.
Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Former Gaza contractor says Israeli soldiers were ready to shoot starving children
The Israeli military was preparing to gun down unarmed Palestinian children in Gaza, and a US mercenary firm told an employee that he was not allowed to stand in their way, according to a US military contractor hired to guard a Gaza aid site. Former Green Beret (US Army special forces) and contractor, Anthony Aguilar, revealed the chilling orders from the Israeli military in an interview with US Senator Chris Van Hollen aired by his office on Tuesday. Aguilar said that an Israeli lieutenant colonel ordered him to get the Palestinian children off a man's shoulders, on which they were standing, to avoid being crushed by a crowd of starving people trying to retrieve aid. 'A Palestinian man had picked up some children to let them step on his shoulders to get onto a berm because they were being crushed. He [the Israeli officer] says, 'Tell your men to get them down,'' Aguilar told Van Hollen. 'I was like, 'we got this under control'…they're children.' The Israeli officer erupted, Aguilar recalled, threatening, 'Get them down now or I will.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Aguilar said he ignored the threat as 'bombastic' until another US mercenary said the Israeli officer had used a radio to communicate with snipers at a nearby base, ordering them to kill the children. 'One of the contractors…was an American that did speak Hebrew. He said, 'Hey. He just told the snipers…to take these kids out',' Aguilar said. When Aguilar confronted the Israeli colonel, he replied, 'I'm gonna take care of this if you don't'. Aguilar said the children eventually ran away from the site, but he had told the Israeli officer that he would not allow him to shoot children. 'They didn't want to be there. They were unarmed. They didn't have shoes. One wasn't wearing a shirt. They were starving,' he said. 'Never say no' After the incident, Aguilar said the chief operations officer of a US mercenary firm, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), called him outside and chastised him. 'He looked at me in the face and he said, 'Never say no to the client'.' Aguilar said he pressed the COO on who Safe Reach Solution's client was, adding that he was under the impression the company had been hired directly by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Starving child in Gaza was killed minutes after receiving aid, former US military contractor says Read More » 'He said 'No, the IDF…we work for them,' he added, referring to the Israeli army. SRS is run by a former high-ranking CIA officer and tied to a US private equity firm in Chicago, Middle East Eye has reported. Aguilar says he was contracted by another firm, UG Solutions, but was taking orders from SRS. Aguilar told Van Hollen he is a former Green Beret who attended the prestigious West Point Military Academy. After graduation, he said he was commissioned as an infantry officer and had 12 combat deployments during a 25-year military career, including to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. He says he has since severed his contract with UG Solutions and is speaking out. The GHF has said Aguilar's contract was terminated by UG Solutions for misconduct. GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay previously accused Aguilar of presenting " falsified documents' and 'misleading videos" about his time in Gaza. Aguilar has told other news outlets that he witnessed Israeli soldiers and US military contractors shooting unarmed Palestinian civilians and committing "war crimes". 'I'm coming out now because I feel that it's important that the American people know from a trusted and reliable source that was there,' he said. 'The American people need to know what the United States is involved in, in Gaza,' he said.
Al Etihad
an hour ago
- Al Etihad
Thirty-five Palestinians seeking aid killed by Israeli gunfire across Gaza
31 July 2025 00:39 GAZA (WAM)Thirty five Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens injured by Israeli gunfire near aid centres in several areas across the Gaza Strip, according to medical another context, the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said the number of journalists killed in Gaza has risen to 232 since Israel launched its military campaign on October 7, 2023. It called on the international community to take immediate action to protect journalists and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Gulf Today
UAE begins pipeline project to ease Gaza water shortage
The UAE has begun construction on a major pipeline to carry desalinated water from Egypt to southern Gaza, according to multiple sources. Technical teams sent by the UAE have started transporting equipment needed for the project, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday. The nearly seven-kilometre (4.5-mile) pipeline aims to help alleviate what WAM described as a "water crisis" in the Gaza Strip. WAM said the UAE had launched "several initiatives to drill and rehabilitate potable water wells." Access to clean drinking water is extremely limited across Gaza, forcing its 2.4 million residents to rely on salty, often undrinkable water or irregular aid deliveries. More than 80 per cent of Gaza's water infrastructure has been damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to estimates from the Palestinian Water Authority. After Israeli supply cuts, most Gazans rely on polluted wells or sporadic NGO water deliveries, hindered by limited aid access. "The water crisis in Gaza continues to deteriorate rapidly amid a severe fuel shortage, extensive infrastructure damage, and inaccessible water sources," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Deir Al Balah desalination plant in central Gaza resumed full operations at the weekend after being reconnected to the Israeli electricity grid for the first time since spring. Humanitarian organisations have been warning for months of an impending public health catastrophe, particularly in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering. Agence France-Presse
