By Abdul Adil
London, (The Muslim News): At least 20 civilians were killed and several others wounded on Friday in more than a dozen Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), despite ongoing efforts to reinforce a fragile ceasefire.
In the Tyre district, one person was killed and another wounded when Israeli shelling struck the town of Borj Qalawieh. In neighboring Nabatieh province, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building near a police station in Doueir, killing one person and injuring another. A subsequent strike on the same town killed three more people, bringing the death toll there to four.
A young man from Kfar Rumman was killed when an Israeli drone targeted his vehicle. Elsewhere, a drone strike on a motorcycle along the Bir al-Salasil–Kfar Dounine road in the Bint Jbeil district killed the rider. Three more people were killed in separate attacks on Adchit.
Israeli warplanes later launched two waves of strikes on Kfar Rumman and targeted areas including Wadi al-Namiriyeh near Deir al-Zahrani, Mayfadoun, al-Rayhan, and the area between Louaizeh and Mlikh.
In Marwaniyeh, a drone strike on a motorcycle killed two people—including a member of the municipal council—and wounded two others. Another airstrike on the town of Zefta killed a man and injured his son after their home was destroyed.
Additional drone strikes killed one person near the Harouf–Toul roundabout and another in the town of Toul. In Zibdin, four people, including a paramedic, were killed in an air raid carried out by Israeli warplanes.
The escalation also included artillery shelling of Kfar Rumman, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and the outskirts of Choukin and Mayfadoun, while drones struck Habboush, Abba, and a motorcycle near the Popular Aid junction, injuring one person.
In Tyre, a strike near Jabal Amel Hospital destroyed a building belonging to Bank Audi and wounded 12 people. Civil defense teams transported the injured to nearby medical facilities. Airstrikes also targeted Majdal Zoun, while artillery fire hit the outskirts of Borj Qalawieh and Deir Kifa.
Before dawn, an Israeli drone struck the al-Barrak area near the Addousiyeh junction in the Zahrani region.
Separately, the Israeli military said it had killed Abd Harb, whom it described as a commander in Hezbollah’s engineering unit, during a strike in southern Lebanon last week. The military did not provide evidence supporting the claim, and Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
Meanwhile, when asked by The Muslim News about the continued Israeli attacks and occupation in Lebanon, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Muslim News:
“The war between Hezbollah and Israel has had disastrous humanitarian consequences, with more than a million people displaced from their homes, widespread destruction, and many civilians killed, including children. We urge all parties to seize the opportunity offered by the extended ceasefire to pave the way for a lasting peace. Both Israel and Hezbollah must respect the ceasefire, and civilians must be protected. The IDF’s widespread demolition of civilian areas in southern Lebanon undermines the ceasefire, Lebanese sovereignty, and the prospects for peace, and it must stop.”
When subsequently asked about the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory, the spokesperson replied:
“I’ve just addressed that issue with my comments on the IDF’s undermining of Lebanese sovereignty. However, our emphasis remains on urging both parties—and indeed all parties—to seize the opportunity offered by the extended ceasefire to pave the way for a lasting peace.”
Ceasefire efforts under strain
The attacks came despite a ceasefire that has been in place since April 17 and was recently extended by Washington through early July.
A joint Lebanese-US-Israeli statement issued Thursday said Beirut and Tel Aviv had agreed during talks in Washington to implement a ceasefire based on a complete halt to Hezbollah attacks and the withdrawal of Hezbollah personnel from areas south of the Litani River.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the United States would determine the timing and mechanism for implementing the agreement, which could take effect within 24 hours of approval.
However, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected the outcome of the negotiations, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that no agreement had yet been finalized.
Speaking before a meeting of Israel’s Security Cabinet, Netanyahu said that from Israel’s perspective “there is currently no agreement,” citing Hezbollah’s opposition to the proposed terms.
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told ministers that the military was prepared either to implement a ceasefire or expand operations if ordered to do so by the political leadership.
“If a ceasefire can be reached on terms acceptable to us, it is better that it happens today rather than a month later under the same conditions,” Zamir said.
Israeli military reports officer casualties
The Israeli military also reported that three officers, including the commander of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, were wounded in separate incidents in southern Lebanon involving a drone attack and clashes with Hezbollah fighters.
According to the army, one officer was seriously wounded Thursday by the explosion of a drone launched from southern Lebanon. In a separate incident in the Zawtar al-Sharqiya area, another officer was seriously injured and the reconnaissance unit commander sustained minor wounds during clashes with Hezbollah fighters.
Lebanese Americans protest in Washington
Meanwhile, Lebanese Americans protested outside an event held at the Lebanese ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., accusing the Lebanese government of failing to protect civilians in southern Lebanon.
“Our family has been killed. Our land has been taken. My grandparents’ graves have been destroyed by Israel in cooperation with the Lebanese government,” one protester said.
Another accused officials of attempting to celebrate Lebanese culture while people in the south were being displaced and killed.
Infant killed in West Bank shooting
In the occupied West Bank, a seven-month-old Palestinian infant was killed Friday after Israeli soldiers opened fire on his family’s vehicle in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The child, identified as Sam Abu Haikal, was traveling with his parents to visit relatives when soldiers fired live ammunition at the vehicle. His father, Fahd Abdul Aziz Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, was wounded in the hand. The same bullet reportedly struck the mother before piercing the infant’s jaw.
All three were transported to a hospital, where the infant later died from his injuries.
The incident comes amid a sharp escalation in Israeli military raids, arrests, and settlement expansion across the occupied West Bank since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.
According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,550 people have been killed and over 10,800 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2.
[Photo: A 7-month-old Palestinian baby, Sam Fehd Abu Heikal, who was killed by Israeli soldiers firing on a vehicle in the Tel Rumeida area south of Hebron. His family is seen mourning at Hebron Hospital where he died of his wounds on June 5, 2026 in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine. Photojournalist: Amer Shallodi/AA]
