Seven family members among 11 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon

At least 11 people, including three children and two women, were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday (August 15), despite a ceasefire remaining in effect, Lebanese authorities said.

According to Lebanese officials, seven of those killed were members of the same family, reports AP News.

The strikes hit the Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani areas in southern Lebanon, said in the report.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said an airstrike struck a house on the outskirts of Ansar, about 70 kilometres south of Beirut, at around 4:30am, killing seven people.

Several displaced families were reportedly living in the house at the time of the attack, according to Lebanon’s state media. Videos circulating on social media showed thick smoke rising over the area following the strike.

Israel later carried out several more strikes in Deir al-Zahrani. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said four more people were killed and five others injured, bringing the total number of deaths from Saturday’s attacks in southern Lebanon to 11.

Israel’s military, however, gave a different account of the operation. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strike in Ansar targeted Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, a commander of a battalion belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. According to the IDF, Hassan was involved in preparations for attacks against Israeli troops.

The Israeli military also claimed that Hassan was inside a military headquarters with family members and was using them as “human shields.” Lebanese Prime Minister Salam rejected the claim, saying the victims were civilians and that there was no military infrastructure at the site. He called on Israel to stop escalating tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office defended the strikes, saying they came after three Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in a Hezbollah attack.

The latest violence has raised fresh concerns over the durability of the ceasefire and the risk of renewed escalation along the Israel-Lebanon border.