Israeli attacks kill nine in Lebanon, reach Beirut outskirts

Israel has continued to wage fierce attacks across Lebanon, including near the capital, Beirut, killing nine people and injuring others, even as US-mediated talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials progress in Washington.

The Israeli attacks on Wednesday struck at least 10 vehicles, in one case directly targeting an ambulance, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, and in another occurring just several kilometres south of Beirut, the country’s state media reported.

Among the victims of the Israeli strikes were two medics in the municipality of Chehour and another six people near the coastal city of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

A Lebanese soldier was also killed while travelling on a road in the south, said the Lebanese army.

The attack in the Khaldeh area on the southern outskirts of Beirut injured two people, according to Lebanese security sources quoted by the Reuters news agency.

“What we’ve been seeing over the past hours has been an escalation,” said Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem from Beirut. “This is taking us back to square one.”

Also reporting from the Lebanese capital, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the Israeli strike near Beirut was fueling concern that “there is no front line in this ongoing conflict.”

“Lebanon has been insisting that Israel abide by a full ceasefire, something the Israeli government is refusing to accept,” said Khodr.

Trump ‘perturbed’ by Netanyahu’s escalation

The attacks come several days after United States President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed to cancel any planned attacks on Beirut, though the Israeli leader’s office separately said Israel still reserved the right to strike Beirut if Hezbollah attacks continued.

Speaking to the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged a recent tense exchange with Netanyahu and said he was “a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon”.

Netanyahu, for his part, insisted that Israel had to “disarm Hezbollah” and “demilitarise Lebanon” in order to make peace with its neighbour.

While Israel and Lebanon agreed to a nominal “ceasefire” in mid-April, attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have continued.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by pointing to the other’s alleged breaches, with Israel breaking the truce on a near-daily basis.