Israel strikes Lebanon despite Trump’s de-escalation plea as Washington talks begin
Eight people were killed in Israeli drone and artillery attacks on Tuesday, including children and Syrian nationals, defying a request from President Donald Trump for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid striking Beirut.
Israel continued its military campaign in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, conducting drone strikes and artillery fire that killed eight people, including two children and their father. The attacks occurred just 24 hours after US President Donald Trump intervened to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target Beirut, aiming to prevent further escalation in the three-month-old conflict. Despite the presidential request and a nominal ceasefire announced in April, hostilities persist, deepening the displacement crisis for Lebanon’s population.
The violence unfolded as Israeli and Lebanese delegations began direct talks in Washington on Tuesday. The fighting remains a critical obstacle in negotiations to extend a ceasefire within the broader US-Israeli war against Iran. Tehran has insisted that any wider diplomatic deal must include an end to the fighting in Lebanon, making the current situation a significant sticking point for international mediators.
In the south, Israeli strikes hit multiple locations, including a car on the road linking Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh, which killed James Karam, a dentist from Qlayaa, along with his daughter and son. Separate drone attacks killed two Syrians working at a plant nursery in Jibchit and two people in the nearby village of Toul. The Lebanese army reported that two soldiers were lightly wounded when targeted by a drone outside Nabatiyeh, while an Israeli air strike on Monday had killed six people in the village of Marwaniyeh.
Hezbollah announced two operations against Israeli forces in the early hours of Tuesday, firing anti-tank missiles at troops pushing into the village of Hadatha, approximately 7 kilometres from the border. The Israeli military intercepted two projectiles crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory overnight. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that continued attacks on northern communities could result in strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyah, stating that the policy’s test would become clear in the coming days.
The latest round of fighting has killed 3,433 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million. According to Netanyahu’s office, at least 27 Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, with two civilians killed in northern Israel. Hezbollah’s press office head, Youssef al-Zein, stated the group would not take a public stance without a formal declaration compelling Israel to implement a comprehensive cessation of hostilities across all Lebanese territory.
