Iran war: US 'defensive' strikes target drones, port city
05/28/2026May 28, 2026Netanyahu vowed this week to 'crush' Hezbollah Image: Kawant Haju/AFPAt least 19 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday, the country's health ministry said.
The ministry said five people had died when an Israeli bomb hit a building in Sidon, which also injured 21 people.
In a separate incident in Adloun, the ministry said the Israeli military had targeted a vehicle, killing six people, including two children and their mother and father.
Earlier on Thursday, Lebanese state media NNA said at least eight people had been killed and several others were injured after the Israeli military bombed the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon's fourth largest city.
Strikes intensify despite ceasefire
Israel's strikes on Lebanon, which have intensified this week, come on the eve of talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington on Friday.
Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have continued to trade fire despite a US-brokered ceasefire having been agreed in April.
Israel has been pounding eastern and southern Lebanon as part of its war against Hezbollah, which escalated in early March.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush" Hezbollah.Israel says it issues evacuation orders prior to launching the strikes on heavily populated areas, like this one in TyreImage: Kawnat Haju/AFP
Lebanese authorities say over 3,200 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured in under two months. Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced in that time.
The militant group, for its part, has been firing drones and missiles towards Israel and at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
One Israeli soldier was killed in one of those drone attacks on northern Israel, the Israeli military said Thursday.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office says 24 Israeli troops have been killed in or near southern Lebanon as a result of Hezbollah drone attacks. Two civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
