By Elham Asaad Buaras
London (The Muslim News): At least 11 civilians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, including three children, as attacks across the region intensify alongside a surge in Israeli settler violence and displacement in the occupied West Bank.
The deaths in Lebanon came amid continuing Israeli attacks in Gaza despite a ceasefire, while Palestinian families in the West Bank face settler attacks, road closures and attempts to establish new settlement outposts.
The violence has also fuelled wider regional tensions, with Yemen’s Houthis [Ansarallah] claiming a drone strike on a Saudi Aramco facility in the southern Saudi city of Najran.
The developments have raised fresh concerns over the durability of ceasefires and diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict.
11 killed in southern Lebanon
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people and wounded 19 on Saturday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, making it one of the deadliest days of attacks since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah was extended in June.
Seven people were killed in a strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar, around 70 kilometres south of Beirut. Lebanese state media reported that three children and two women were among those killed.
A second round of strikes hit Deir al-Zahrani, killing four people and injuring 17 others, according to Lebanese authorities.
The Lebanese authorities said the Ansar strike, which took place at around 4:30am, hit an area where displaced families were living.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attack, saying the seven people killed in Ansar were civilians and not “military infrastructure”.
The Israeli military said it had killed a Hezbollah commander following an attack against Israeli soldiers. It alleged that members of the commander’s family, whom it accused of being used as human shields, were also present and were “harmed”.
The escalation has raised concern that the fragile cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah could come under further strain.
Israeli settler violence on civilians in West Bank reaches unprecedented levels
In the occupied West Bank, three Palestinian civilians were injured Friday in separate attacks by illegal Israeli settlers in Hebron province.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams treated two Palestinians who were shot with live ammunition during a settler attack in the Al-Adissa area of Sa’ir.
One Palestinian was shot in the head and back, while another was shot in the back.
Near Beit Ummar, settlers allegedly ran over Palestinian youth Hamada Kawamleh with a motorcycle before assaulting him while he was on his land with his children, according to local sources. Israeli soldiers subsequently arrested Kawamleh.
Settlers also blocked the road leading to Al-Adissa as attacks in the area continued.
In Nablus province, settlers have been surrounding Palestinian homes in Qusra, where three families have reportedly been besieged since Sunday.
Roads leading to their homes have been closed, preventing residents from moving freely and restricting their access to basic necessities.
The families fear they could be forced from their homes and that their land could subsequently be taken over.
The siege has coincided with a heavy Israeli military presence in Qusra, where hundreds of soldiers were deployed under the stated pretext of dismantling a settler outpost established near the town.
Israeli forces also raided Jayyus in Qalqilya province, although there were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries.
The UN has warned that settler violence in the West Bank has reached unprecedented levels. It has documented more than 1,430 incidents since the beginning of 2026 affecting around 260 Palestinian communities.
About 3,800 Palestinians have been displaced this year through settler violence, demolitions and evictions, nearly half of them children.
UN figures also show that 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, had been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers by August 10.
New illegal settlement outpost near Ramallah
The violence has been accompanied by further attempts to expand illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territory.
Israeli settler groups erected tents in the Wadi Zeytun area northwest of Ramallah on Sunday in an apparent attempt to establish a new illegal settlement outpost, according to Palestine’s official news agency Wafa.
If successful, the move would increase the number of settlement sites in the area to six.
The development comes amid growing international concern that violence, land seizures, demolitions and displacement are being used together to push Palestinians from parts of the occupied West Bank.
The UN has warned that the pattern of displacement is becoming increasingly systematic, with Palestinians being forced from their communities before settlers take control of vacated land.
Gaza ceasefire remains under strain as Israeli forces kill one Palestinian
In Gaza, Israeli attacks have continued despite the ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10, 2025.
One Palestinian was killed and six others were injured when an Israeli drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people near Al-Aqsa University in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, according to medical sources.
Several Palestinians were also injured when an Israeli strike hit the roof of a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
A child was shot and injured by an Israeli quadcopter drone east of the Bureij refugee camp.
The attacks came as mediators continued efforts to complete implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October 2023. According to figures cited in the material, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 174,000 wounded.
Despite the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks since October 10, 2025 have killed at least 1,262 Palestinians and injured more than 4,100.
Pope calls for action over West Bank violence
The escalation prompted Pope Leo XIV to renew his call for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking after the weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday, the Pope called for an end to what he described as repeated violence against the Palestinian civilian population and urged the international community to advance efforts towards a two-state solution.
“I renew my appeal for an end to the repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian civilian population of the West Bank,”
Leo said, according to Vatican News.
He also issued an urgent appeal for international efforts towards “a two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace”.
The Pope made the remarks as the siege of Palestinian families in Qusra and a wider surge in settler violence have drawn increasing international attention.
The Vatican has consistently backed a two-state solution based on secure and internationally recognised borders as the route to a lasting peace.
Leo also referred to the Mediterranean Games, saying he hoped the sporting event in the Italian city of Taranto could become a “prophetic sign of peace and fraternity” among peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond.
Houthi claim raises wider regional concerns
Beyond the Israel-Palestine theatre, Yemen’s Houthis claimed Friday that they had carried out a drone strike targeting a Saudi Aramco facility in Najran, southern Saudi Arabia.
The group’s Saba news agency, citing an unnamed military source, said Houthi forces had “successfully targeted Aramco Najran with a drone”.
The source claimed the operation had achieved its objective but gave no details about damage or casualties.
The Houthis said the alleged attack was in response to what they described as a Saudi military aircraft violating Yemen’s sovereignty by entering the northeastern airspace of Saada province.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities or Saudi Aramco.
The claim followed an August 6 attack on Najran in which the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said 11 civilians, including seven Saudi nationals, were injured.
Tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have increased since early July, after the Houthis expanded their attacks to vessels they said were linked to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province, saying the sites were being used to threaten maritime navigation.
Riyadh has also announced a multinational maritime defence coalition to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, involving the United States, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco, the Maldives, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The latest developments leave ceasefires and diplomatic initiatives facing mounting pressure, with civilians continuing to bear the cost of violence across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, while the conflict’s wider repercussions extend into the Red Sea and Gulf.
[Photo: A view of the destruction after the Israeli airstrike on Deir ez-Zahrani, where at least 11 people were killed, in Lebanon on August 15, 2026. Photojournalist: Houssam Shbaro/AA]
