By Middle East Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): At least six people were killed in fresh Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon since early Saturday, following a broader wave of attacks on Friday that left 23 people dead across multiple towns, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
An Israeli raid on the town of Ain Baal in Tyre district killed one person and injured seven others, including three women, the NNA reported, citing the Health Ministry. Another strike on a house in Louaizeh, in the Iqlim al-Tuffah region, killed three people, while an attack on a car on the Kfardjal–Nabatieh road killed two more.
Meanwhile, two civilians were killed and several others wounded in a separate Israeli raid carried out “shortly after midnight between Thursday and Friday,” with one of the injured identified as Hussein Ali Ahmad, the mayor of Shoukin. The attack destroyed multiple residential buildings and caused extensive damage to an entire neighbourhood.
The latest killings follow Friday’s wider escalation, in which at least 23 people were killed and several others injured in Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon despite a temporary ceasefire. According to the NNA and Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the strikes hit several towns and villages across Nabatieh, Sidon and Bint Jbeil districts.
In Nabatieh al-Fawqa, two people were killed and 10 injured. Rescue teams later recovered five bodies from the rubble of a building in Kfar Roummane, which had been struck overnight. Civil defence crews and ambulance teams from the Islamic Risala Scout Association cleared debris following the attack.
In Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain, two people were killed and two others injured. In Ain Baal, a Lebanese woman was killed and four others wounded after a house was shelled east of Tyre. In Habbouch, eight people (including a child and two women) were killed and 28 others injured. In Zrariyeh, four people, including two women, were killed and four others injured, while another person was killed in Borj Qalaouiye.
Israeli airstrikes have also targeted civilian infrastructure. The Israeli army demolished a monastery and a school run by the Sisters of the Holy Savior in Yaroun. The school, described by the NNA as one of the region’s most prominent educational institutions, had served thousands of students over the years and its destruction was described as “a major loss at both the educational and social levels.”
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has reached 2,618, with 8,094 people injured. The ministry said 32 people were killed and 74 injured in the past 24 hours alone.
Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon displacing more than 1 million people. A 10-day ceasefire that began on April 17 was later extended until May 17, but Israel continues to violate it daily through airstrikes and the demolition of homes. Israel also illegally occupies parts of Lebanon what it calls a “buffer zone” saying it is intended to prevent attacks from Hezbollah. An earlier truce was reached in November 2024.
Tensions across the wider region remain high.
IRGC announces new rules over its coastline and in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz
A senior Iranian military official warned that renewed conflict with the United States is likely. “A renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely, and evidence has also shown that the United States does not adhere to any commitments or agreement,” Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy inspector of the military headquarters, said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.
He added that Iranian forces are “in full readiness for any renewed adventurism and miscalculation by the United States.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced “new rules” over its coastline in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, acting on directives attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The IRGC Navy said it will exercise control over “nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles) of Iran’s coastline,” describing the move as part of efforts to strengthen regional security.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint after earlier US and Israeli illegal strikes triggered heightened maritime tensions. US President Donald Trump claimed Washington had seized Iranian cargo at sea, describing it as “a very profitable business,” and warning that Iran had used the waterway “as a weapon for many, many years.”
Diplomatic efforts continue alongside the escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on maritime security and Iran’s nuclear programme, with Moscow calling for a “complete halt to hostilities” and long-term political settlement in the region.
US President Donald Trump has meanwhile informed Congress that hostilities with Iran have ended following a ceasefire in early April, though he warned that Iran continues to pose a “significant” threat.
Israel continues raids in occupied West Bank
Elsewhere, Israeli forces detained 10 Palestinians, including five children, during raids across the occupied West Bank, according to local sources cited by Anadolu Agency. Since October 2023, at least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, with thousands more injured or arrested.
Preacher killed in Syria
In Syria, a preacher was killed in a grenade explosion south of Damascus in an attack that authorities say is under investigation. No group has claimed responsibility.
The latest developments underscore a region-wide escalation spanning Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and Iran, with fragile ceasefires repeatedly undermined by ongoing violence.
[Photo: People mourn during a funeral ceremony of three civil defense members killed by Israeli forces. Mourners hold the photos of those who lost their lives in the town of Majdal Zoun in an Israeli strike that violated the ceasefire in the city of Tyre, Lebanon, on April 30, 2026. Photojournalist: Houssam Shbaro/AA]
