Trump administration may announce maritime escort for gulf shipping amid mounting regional tensions, while Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchange strikes
By Middle East Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): At least 14 people, including four children, were killed in southern Lebanon on Sunday following a series of Israeli airstrikes, while 12 Palestinians, including two children, were killed in the central Gaza Strip. The attacks mark a sharp escalation in hostilities following the joint US–Israeli offensive against Iran and its regional allies, which began on February 28.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed the casualties, reporting: “In the attack carried out on the Rahibat neighbourhood in the city of Nebatieh, seven people, including four children, were killed.” Another seven were killed and eight injured in strikes targeting Sidon’s Haret Saida area and the Katrani district in Jezzine.
The state news agency NNA reported that Israeli warplanes also hit a mosque in Yahmar al-Shaqif, followed by artillery shelling in the nearby town of Arnoun. Since March 2, when the Israeli army expanded its campaign to Beirut following a Hezbollah responded to Israeli attacks since ceasefire agreement in November, at least 850 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 107 children.
In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on Salah al-Din Street near Al-Zawayda targeted a vehicle, killing Eyad Abu Youssef, the director of the Intervention and Public Order Police, along with seven officers. A separate strike on a house in al-Sawarha, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, killed four people, including two children.
The Gaza Interior Ministry emphasised that these areas lie outside direct Israeli army control, though Tel Aviv maintains dominance over southern and eastern buffer zones and large parts of northern Gaza. Since the October 10 ceasefire was breached, health officials report at least 658 Palestinians have been killed.
Israel is preparing for a major expansion of its operations. Public broadcaster KAN reports that a proposal to raise the reservist mobilization ceiling from 260,000 to 450,000 is expected to be presented to the Knesset soon. The military is also reviewing options for a ground invasion into Lebanon.
Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told CNN that the army is planning for “at least three more weeks” of operations, with “thousands of targets ahead,” potentially extending through the Jewish holiday of Passover.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces recently destroyed a bridge over the Litani River. Hezbollah responded with rocket barrages targeting the Avivim barracks and the Rafael military industries complex, along with a drone strike on the Palmachim Airbase south of Tel Aviv.
Sirens sounded across the Tel Aviv metropolitan region (Gush Dan). According to Yedioth Ahronoth and Channel 12, a missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead scattered submunitions over Tel Aviv, while a strike in Bnei Brak moderately injured a 60-year-old man.
Diplomatically, the US is considering announcing a maritime coalition to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz as early as this week. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, however, confirmed that Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government will not participate. “Will we soon become an active part of this conflict? No,” Wadephul told ARD.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian informed French President Emmanuel Macron that recent strikes on Kharg and Abu Musa islands were launched from the territory of certain Gulf states, emphasising that Iran does not seek escalation but will defend its territorial integrity. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Tehran remains “wary” of US negotiations after feeling “tricked” in the past.
[Photo: Muslim worshippers gather around the area of Al-Aqsa Mosque and different locations in the Old City of Jerusalem to mark Laylat al-Qadr after Israeli authorities prevented their entry into the compound in East Jerusalem on March 15, 2026. Israel restricted access to the mosque compound citing a gathering ban imposed following the start of attacks on Iran, preventing many Muslims from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to observe the holy night. Photojournalist: Mostafa Alkharouf/AA]
