Lebanon records dozens of deaths as Israel intensifies attacks

Lebanon's Ministry of Health reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people and injured 77 others on Wednesday (27), in one of the most violent days since the ceasefire in Lebanon, which came into force in April and was extended on May 15.

The attacks came as the Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings for more cities in the south of the country, while continuing to attack targets it said belonged to the Hezbollah group.

The bombings continued this Thursday (28), with at least six people, including two children, killed in an Israeli attack in the city of Adloun, according to the Ministry of Health.

Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that the victims were part of a family trying to "flee at dawn from threatened villages to safety."

Other fatal Israeli offensives were also reported on Thursday in the southern Lebanese cities of Tire and Sidon, the Health Ministry said.

"We were sleeping. At two in the morning, we woke up with a very strong impact. We looked around and found rubble on us," Taghrisa Ramadan, a resident of Sidon, told Reuters news agency.

"The entire house is damaged. The walls are black with soot."

CNN has contacted the Israeli Armed Forces for guidance.

In recent days, Israel has issued several other evacuation warnings for areas in southern Lebanon, including Tyre. The alert appears to be the largest ever issued for the coastal city.

The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) also issued what appears to be the first evacuation order for the city of Nabatieh, located north of the Litani River.

Israel said on Wednesday (27) that it had carried out attacks against approximately 550 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since the beginning of the week.

Attacks amid ceasefire
The bombings further strain the ceasefire announced on April 16 and extended for 45 days on May 15, which aimed to halt fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and occurred on the same day that Iran alleged that the United States violated a separate truce by attacking the south of the country.

Two sources said on Tuesday that Israeli armed forces had expanded their ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the security zone, but did not provide further details on the extent of the advance beyond the so-called Yellow Line.

This line, distinct from the UN-demarcated "Blue Line" that marks the border between Lebanon and Israel following the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, is part of a proposed buffer zone extending 5km to 10km south of Lebanon.

The Israeli military has ordered residents not to return to dozens of villages in the area, and its troops have destroyed homes in the region.

An Israeli military official stated that the armed forces were "operating in a targeted manner beyond the Forward Line of Defense in order to eliminate direct threats to the citizens of the State of Israel" and to Israeli soldiers, "in accordance with the directives of the political leadership."

Netanyahu declared on Monday (25) that Israel would intensify its attacks against Hezbollah, while an American official said the Iran-backed group ignored warnings to stop attacks that risked harming negotiations to end the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.

Hezbollah claimed on Tuesday (26) to have attacked Israeli forces and tanks advancing towards the city of Zawtar al-Sharqiya, in southern Lebanon, with explosive drones, rockets and artillery.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health says the total number of deaths in the Israeli offensive since March 2, when Hezbollah launched projectiles at Israel in response to the start of the war with Iran, reached 3,213 dead and 9,737 injured as of May 26.

The Israeli army reported that 10 of its soldiers have been killed since the April 16 ceasefire, six of them by Hezbollah explosive drones.

The World Health Organization said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire.

Hezbollah has not released figures on its own casualties.

Understand what Hezbollah is and how the Lebanese group came about

Source: CNN