By Middle East Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 16 civilians on Saturday, Lebanese officials said, amid continued violations of a ceasefire that had been due to hold until May 17.
Lebanon’s National News Agency, citing the Health Ministry, reported that one person was killed and seven others injured, including three women, in a strike on the town of Ain Baal in the Tyre district. In Louaizeh, in the Iqlim al-Tuffah region, three civilians were killed when a տուն was hit, while two more died after a car was struck along the Kfardjal–Nabatieh road.
In the town of Shoukine, eight people, including two Syrian nationals, were killed in one of the deadliest strikes of the day. Two further fatalities were reported after a residential and commercial building was hit on the Zebdine–Nabatieh road in Nabatieh district.
The attacks follow a raid carried out shortly after midnight between Thursday and Friday that killed two civilians and wounded several others, including Shoukine’s mayor, Hussein Ali Ahmad. The strike levelled multiple residential buildings.
Hezbollah said it responded by targeting two gatherings of Israeli soldiers, claiming it had achieved “confirmed hits.”
Lebanese authorities say Israel has intensified its offensive since March 2, with more than 2,600 people killed and over 1.6 million displaced. The Health Ministry said the death toll has reached 2,659, with 8,183 injured. In the past 24 hours, 41 people were killed.
The escalation comes as fighting continues across the region. Iran and its allies have struck at least 16 US military sites in eight Middle Eastern countries in recent hostilities, according to a report based on satellite imagery and regional sources. Several facilities were left heavily damaged.
Pentagon comptroller Jules “Jay” Hurst III told lawmakers the conflict has cost the United States about $25 billion so far, although other estimates put the figure higher.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran “isn’t coming through with the kind of deal that we have to have.”
Amazon also confirmed that Iranian drone strikes in early March hit its data centres in the United Arab Emirates, causing disruption to its AWS cloud services used by US military operations.
Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza
In Gaza, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Saturday in separate incidents despite a ceasefire in place since last October.
Medical sources said Muhammad al-Sayed Suleiman Sbeitan, 26, died after being struck by a drone-fired bomb near Deir al-Balah. In a separate incident, Ammar Talal Abu Shab was killed by Israeli fire north of Khan Younis.
Local sources said both incidents occurred outside the Israeli-designated “yellow line,” an area from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement.
Since October 2023, more than 72,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to local authorities.
Israeli forces raids villages in Syria
In southern Syria, Syrian state media reported that Israeli forces raided villages in the Quneitra countryside on Saturday and opened heavy fire. Artillery shells struck areas near Koudna and Tell Ahmar al-Sharqi. No casualties were immediately confirmed.
[Photo: Close family members mourn at the funeral outside the Nasser Hospital for 15-year-old Palestinian Riyad Naci Nemr Ebu Nemr who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza, Palestine on May 03, 2026. Photojournalist: Abed Rahim Khatib/AA]
