Lebanon says Israeli strike killed at least 11 people

BEIRUT: Lebanon's health ministry said on Tuesday that an Israeli strike a day earlier killed at least 11 people, two of them children, as the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure. In a statement, the ministry said that 'yesterday's Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child', adding that rescuers were still clearing the rubble in the eastern town.
The Israeli military for the first time warned residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh to immediately evacuate on Tuesday ahead of expected strikes, while Hezbollah said it confronted Israeli troops in a nearby town. The day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to intensify attacks on Hezbollah to 'crush' the Tehran-backed group. 'For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!' the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.
Largely deserted since the start of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2, Nabatieh has faced relentless strikes despite an April 17 truce. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported several Israeli strikes across the south. Evacuation warnings near the southern city of Tyre on Monday caused mass panic and an exodus of residents of the historic city, according to a correspondent.
Strikes also hit the town of Mashghara in the east, according to the NNA. The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had bombed more than 100 Hezbollah targets overnight. Hezbollah meanwhile said in a statement that its fighters repelled an Israeli force early Tuesday that had advanced toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, which overlooks Nabatieh, following airstrikes and heavy artillery fire. The group said it used drones and was fighting with Israeli soldiers in the town.
Netanyahu had last night ordered 'an even greater acceleration of our operations' against Hezbollah. 'It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue... We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.' Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ongoing truce, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, while the latter has claimed several attacks on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon and Northern Israel. More than 3,100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Two far-right ministers called for an expansion of Israel's military campaign in Lebanon. 'There is an urgent need to put an end to the threat posed by Hezbollah's explosive drones,' Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in an occupied West Bank settlement, said on Telegram. 'For every explosive drone strike, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut.' National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for a 'return to intensive warfare' and for 'taking control' of the Zahrani River, located further north than the Litani River. The Israeli army, which controls a strip of land approximately 10 kilometres (six miles) deep in Lebanese territory, has designated the Litani River as the boundary of the area to be cleared of Hezbollah fighters.
On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended his decision to hold talks with Israel, adding that his demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon was 'non-negotiable'. Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, are holding another round of negotiations in Washington on June 2 and 3, preceded by a meeting of military officials from both countries at the Pentagon on May 29. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reiterated his opposition to direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on Sunday evening and repeated his refusal to have his movement to disarm.