Israel Pounds Southern Lebanon in Massive Attacks as Iran-US Peace Deal Nears
Israel launched massive airstrikes across southern Lebanon, hitting at least 20 towns and cities including Tyre and Nabatieh, killing dozens, even as the United States and Iran close in on a historic peace deal.
The Israeli military carried out widespread bombing campaigns across southern Lebanon over the past week, hitting more than 20 locations and forcing mass evacuations. On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes bombarded the entire city of Tyre after issuing evacuation warnings, killing at least eight people [169323]. The strikes followed an earlier wave of attacks that killed 17 people on Tuesday [169885] and 13 more on Wednesday [170071], according to Lebanese officials.
The army issued evacuation warnings for the southern city of Nabatieh and more than 20 other towns, with strikes reported shortly after [172365][172372]. Local sources described the bombings in Marjayoun and Nabatieh as "massive" and "unprecedented" [171735]. UN peacekeepers have detected 48 violations of Lebanese airspace by Israel and nine airstrikes, warning of a "deteriorating" situation [169380].
Iran has threatened to resume attacks if Israel continues its Lebanon offensive, but Israeli leaders said they will not stop operations [169096]. Meanwhile, the United States and Iran are near a historic agreement to end their war, with a tentative deal including terms for removing and destroying nuclear material from Iran, three regional officials told The Associated Press [172373].
Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research is systematically documenting Israeli attacks and destruction across the country, cataloging damage to buildings and infrastructure for potential legal action [172173].
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