New Israeli raids on southern Lebanon resulted in the killing of at least 14 people, in the most violent day since the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, while the two sides exchanged accusations of violating the truce. For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu assured the army's "freedom to operate" within the "yellow line" at a time when Tel Aviv ordered the evacuation of villages north of the Litani River amid a toll of more than 2,500 dead since March 2.

Published on: 04/27/2026 - 03:53 Last updated: 04/27/2026 - 11:15

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The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that Israeli raids on the south on Sunday killed at least 14 people, in the deadliest day since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect more than a week ago.

In parallel, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged accusations of violating the fragile truce, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the army was targeting Hezbollah "strongly," while the Iranian-backed party pledged to continue responding to what he described as "violations."

The ceasefire agreement began on April 17, following a round of negotiations between the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel in Washington, and was limited to ten days before US President Donald Trump announced on the 23rd of the same month its extension for an additional three weeks after new talks in the White House.

Israeli forces are stationed within what Tel Aviv calls the “Yellow Line” at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers along the border with Lebanon, while warning residents not to return to these areas.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Sunday's toll includes two women and two children, while the number of wounded reached 37. Ministry figures collected by Agence France-Presse indicate that Israeli raids have claimed the lives of at least 36 people since the start of the truce.

On the Israeli side, the army announced that a soldier was killed and an officer and five other soldiers were wounded in “battles” in southern Lebanon.

"Freedom to work"

The National News Agency in Lebanon reported that Israeli warplanes targeted several areas in the south, some of which were among the areas evacuated under Israeli warnings. Agence France-Presse correspondents monitored heavy displacement and traffic congestion towards the north.

During his government's weekly meeting, Netanyahu considered that "Hezbollah's violations undermine the ceasefire," stressing that Israel "will do whatever is necessary to re-establish security."

Israel accuses Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon into the regional war after it launched missiles at Israel on March 2 in "revenge" for the killing of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.

Netanyahu added that his government "is working vigorously in accordance with the arrangements agreed upon with the United States, and by the way also with Lebanon," explaining that these arrangements "mean freedom of action, not only to respond to attacks, but also to thwart immediate threats and even emerging threats."

The text of the agreement published by the US State Department indicates that Israel reserves the right to take “all necessary measures to defend itself at any time against planned, imminent, or continuing attacks.”

On the other hand, Hezbollah affirmed in a statement that “the resistance’s continued targeting of the Israeli enemy’s concentrations on our land that it occupies, and its bombing of the north of the Hebrew state, is a legitimate response to its persistent violations of the ceasefire since day one.”

More than 2,500 dead

The Israeli army sent "urgent and immediate" orders to the residents of seven villages north of the Litani River to evacuate them in preparation for targeting them, accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire agreement.

The National Agency reported that the Israeli Air Force bombed the village of Kafr Tibnit, resulting in casualties, before reporting another raid on the same town that led to additional casualties, while a strike on the eastern village of Zawtar destroyed a mosque and another religious building, coinciding with the bombing of other border villages.

Agence France-Presse correspondents reported columns of smoke rising from Nabatieh Al-Fawqa and neighboring areas following the Israeli raids. The Israeli army announced the targeting of Hezbollah's "missile launching cells and combat weapons warehouses", in addition to "saboteurs and military infrastructure" north of the "front defense line", in reference to the "yellow line" extending about ten kilometers deep into Lebanese territory.

Shortly after Netanyahu's statements, the army indicated that it intercepted three drones before they penetrated Israeli airspace.

The latest toll from the Lebanese Ministry of Health indicates that 2,509 people were killed and 7,755 others were injured as a result of Israeli attacks since March 2.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Beirut held a ceremony honoring an Indonesian soldier who died on Friday as a result of his injuries last month in an explosion in southern Lebanon, which a preliminary United Nations investigation concluded was caused by an Israeli tank shell.

France 24/AFP

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