Israeli air, drone strikes hit southern Lebanon, family among dead

Israeli air and drone strikes continued through the night and into the early hours of Friday across southern Lebanon, despite reports of a ceasefire, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The agency said a series of attacks struck several towns and villages, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries, with civilian areas among those hit.

In the village of Barish, a family of four — a father, mother and two children — were killed when their home was destroyed, NNA reported.

In a separate incident in Arab Salim, three people were killed in what the agency described as a two-phase raid. Further casualties were reported in Deir ez-Zahrani, where one person was killed in an attack on municipal premises. In another strike, a drone hit a motorbike near the eastern entrance to Duwayr village, killing one person.

Residential damage was also reported in an airstrike on an-Numayriyah, where several houses were destroyed. According to NNA, Israeli aircraft struck Kafr Ghuz, levelling a residential building before returning less than 30 minutes later to hit another structure in the same area.

In the Al-Mael district of Arab Salim, two successive airstrikes reportedly brought down multiple homes. Rescue teams recovered one body from the rubble, while more than seven people were still believed to be trapped under debris, the agency said.

A member of the Lebanese army was also killed in an airstrike at a roundabout in Kfarriman, according to the report.

Further strikes were reported across a wide area of the south, including Kfar Riman, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Shoukin, Habboush, Zibdin, Sajd and Mahmoudiyah. Separately, a drone attack targeted the Rahbat district of the city of Nabatieh and surrounding areas.

NNA said details on the full extent of the destruction and casualty toll remain unclear, with assessment efforts ongoing as emergency crews continue to search through damaged buildings.

By Aghakazim Guliyev