By Abdul Adil
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon killed 31 civilians and wounded 40 others on Wednesday, as it intensified strikes and issued dozens of forced displacement threats for towns and villages in the south and east, according to Lebanese media and official sources.
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported on Tuesday that four women were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential house in the town of Maareke in the Tyre district. Civil defense teams recovered the victims’ bodies from the rubble while rescue operations continued for family members believed trapped beneath the destroyed building.
Earlier on in the day, Israeli strikes on the southern towns of Kherbet Selem and Srifa killed two more people, including a paramedic.
The attacks came amid one of the sharpest escalations since a US-mediated ceasefire took effect on April 17 and was later extended for 45 days beginning May 17.
According to an Anadolu Agency tally based on NNA reports, Israel carried out at least 82 attacks across southern and eastern Lebanon by 1400 GMT, including 72 airstrikes and 10 artillery attacks. Among the dead were two health workers, while at least four others were wounded.
About 1.6 million people have been displaced across Lebanon as the death toll continues to rise after fighting restarted on March 2. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Tuesday, at least 3,213 people have been killed and 9,737 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks.
The strikes coincided with Eid Al-Adha day – the Hajj pilgrimage.
Escalation across southern Lebanon
The heaviest bombardment on Tuesday targeted the Nabatieh district, where at least 43 airstrikes hit multiple towns, including Yohmor al-Shaqif, Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Doueir and Sharqiya.
In the Bint Jbeil district, 13 airstrikes targeted several areas, including Kherbet Selem, where one person was killed after a vehicle was struck.
In Tyre district, nine strikes hit areas including Srifa, where one paramedic was killed and two others injured.
Israeli artillery shelling also targeted border regions, while phosphorus shells were reportedly fired toward the town of Shebaa in the Hasbaya district.
In eastern Lebanon, an Israeli strike near the Qaraoun Dam in the western Bekaa region cut off a road leading to Mashghara. Israeli drones were also reported flying over Beirut and its southern suburbs.
The escalation followed recent threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intensify attacks against Hezbollah and deliver what he described as “powerful strikes” amid growing concern over the group’s drone operations. However, Israeli forces have been targeting residential areas killing innocent civilians.
UN reports record ceasefire violations
The United Nations said Tuesday that peacekeepers in southern Lebanon recorded the highest number of airspace violations since the ceasefire began.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) detected 91 airspace violations on Monday alone.
“UNIFIL observed extensive Israeli military activity, as well as attacks by a non-state armed group, presumably Hezbollah, against Israeli forces,” Haq told reporters.
According to the UN, peacekeepers also documented 399 firing incidents attributed to Israeli forces and 11 projectile launches attributed to Hezbollah.
UNIFIL further reported large-scale Israeli armored movements, engineering operations, artillery shelling, mortar fire and rocket impacts throughout its operational area over the weekend.
The UN said nearly one million people remain displaced inside Lebanon, with many families fleeing intensified airstrikes forced to spend nights in vehicles in Beirut while shelters struggled to accommodate the growing number of displaced civilians.
Israeli ground operations expand
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the army has expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the so-called “yellow line” south of the Litani River.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said the expanded incursion is intended to prevent Hezbollah fighters from approaching the border area and to counter drone attacks.
The Israeli army has not officially commented on the reports, but Netanyahu held security consultations Tuesday with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir amid the escalating fighting.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli forces reportedly advanced into Zawtar al-Sharqiya north of the Litani River, where Hezbollah said it carried out attacks against advancing Israeli troops which are occupying illegally Lebanese land.
Israeli strikes kill nine Palestinians in Gaza ahead of Eid al-Adha
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least nine Palestinians on Tuesday, including women and children, medical sources said, as attacks continued on the eve of Eid al-Adha despite an ongoing ceasefire agreement.
In the latest strike, three Palestinians, including a woman, were killed and 20 others injured after Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood west of Gaza City, according to medical sources.
Witnesses said the area was one of Gaza City’s busiest shopping districts ahead of the holiday and that multiple missiles caused extensive destruction.
Another strike on the roof of a nearby residential building injured five more people.
Earlier, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured after an Israeli drone targeted a civilian vehicle near the Abu Alaa roundabout in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis. Medical officials said the victims’ bodies were severely burned and could not immediately be identified.
Four more Palestinians were killed in a strike targeting a gathering of civilians east of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.
Israeli naval vessels also reportedly opened fire toward the coasts of Rafah and Khan Younis, though no casualties were immediately reported.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks since October 2023 have killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and injured over 172,000, while widespread destruction has affected roughly 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
Palestinian man killed in Jenin refugee camp, occupied West Bank
A Palestinian man was killed Tuesday by Israeli army fire in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces handed over the victim’s body to medical crews, who transferred it to Jenin Governmental Hospital. Authorities said the victim’s identity had not yet been confirmed.
The killing comes amid a months-long Israeli military operation launched in January 2025 across refugee camps in the northern West Bank, including Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.
According to Palestinian officials, Israeli military raids and settler attacks in the West Bank since October 2023 have killed more than 1,160 Palestinians, injured nearly 12,250 and resulted in approximately 23,000 arrests.
Iran restores international internet access
Iran has restored international internet access following months of restrictions imposed after nationwide protests in January and later intensified during the conflict involving the US and Israel, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Tasnim News Agency reported Tuesday that President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered internet access to be returned to conditions that existed before January 2026.
International websites are now reportedly accessible again, while fixed broadband services — including FTTH, VDSL and ADSL — as well as mobile internet services, have resumed without restrictions.
[Photo: Smoke rises following the Israeli attacks on Ali al-Tahir area despite the ceasefire in Nabatieh, Lebanon on May 24, 2026. Photojournalist: Ramiz Dallah/AA]
