Israeli strikes kill 18 in Lebanon as fighting escalates

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 18 people and wounded 33 on Friday, while the Israeli military said four of its soldiers were killed in some of the fiercest fighting since the latest escalation began. The day’s toll showed how quickly the Lebanon front is widening despite diplomatic pressure to contain it, with intensive airstrikes since midnight making rescue and evacuation efforts far harder for Lebanese crews on the ground.

Residents in the Nabatieh district described bombardment of several towns as among the heaviest in recent weeks. Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes left a growing casualty count across the south, while Israeli officials said their forces were targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in response to repeated ceasefire violations by the Iran-backed group. Hezbollah said its fighters ambushed an Israeli force advancing near Ali al-Taher hill, destroyed three Merkava tanks with guided missiles and continued to exchange rocket and artillery fire, underscoring how the fighting has expanded from air attacks into a broader ground contest.

The violence came a day after Israel published a map showing an expanded military control zone in southern Lebanon, with the deployment line extending up to 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, inside Lebanese territory. That map raised fresh doubts over how much authority any ceasefire arrangement can exert on the ground, especially as Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters continue to claim space in the same narrow border zone. A senior Israeli official said talks with the Trump administration were continuing over whether Israeli troops could remain several kilometers inside southern Lebanon as the campaign goes on.

The escalation is also straining the wider diplomatic framework intended to end the broader war linked to Iran and restore respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty. France has urged Washington to pressure Israel to stop the fighting, a sign that outside powers fear the arrangement is fraying as both sides accuse each other of violating terms and maintaining armed positions. Lebanese state media also reported three people killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes on Kfartebnit and Zebdine, and reporters heard an Israeli drone flying low over Beirut and its southern suburbs, a reminder that the conflict’s reach is no longer confined to the border.

Since March 2, the war has remained volatile, but the latest exchange has been unusually severe. Four Israeli soldiers dead, at least 18 people killed in Lebanon, and fresh airstrikes across the south point to a front where military logic is again outrunning diplomacy, narrowing the space for de-escalation with each new round of fire.