Israeli airstrikes kill at least 14 people in southern Lebanon on Friday as military delegations from both countries hold talks at the Pentagon in Washington.
Israeli forces have crossed the Litani River in Lebanon, roughly 30 kilometers north of their shared border, as part of an expanded ground offensive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday. The military operation continues despite a ceasefire that began in April and was extended for 45 days in May through US-mediated indirect talks.
The Attacks
At least 14 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting towns across southern Lebanon on Friday, according to state-run media. Four people died in a strike on a building in Abbasiyeh near Tyre, while eight Syrians were killed in attacks on the al-Harthiyeh area near Adloun, the National News Agency reported.
Additional strikes hit Deir Qanoun en-Nahr, as-Sarafand, Khirbet Selm, Harayib, Gandouriyeh, Froun, and al-Mansouri. A Lebanese police officer was also killed in a drone strike on the town of Aba in Nabatieh province earlier Friday.
The Israeli military issued forced displacement warnings for seven additional towns in southern Lebanon on Friday, including two locations roughly 40 kilometers north of the Israeli border.
Pentagon Talks and Diplomatic Efforts
Lebanese and Israeli military delegations held security discussions at the Pentagon on Friday as violence intensified. The Lebanese delegation, headed by army director of operations Georges Rizkallah, was expected to demand an immediate halt to Israeli attacks.
Israeli Brigadier General Amichai Levin, head of the strategic division within the army’s planning directorate, represented Israel at the talks. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a ceasefire was essential, saying a “ceasefire is an essential gateway to moving on to any other step,” according to his office.
Rubio commended Aoun’s “courage and vision in pursuing direct negotiations with Israel” and reiterated US commitment to consolidating outcomes from previous ambassador-level negotiations. Rubio stated that Hezbollah is “entirely responsible for the ongoing fighting” and emphasized the need for the armed group to cease attacks immediately.
Impact on Civilians
Fifteen children have been killed and 62 injured in Lebanon over the past seven days, the United Nations reported. UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires called the figures “staggering,” noting the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health documented 77 child casualties or injuries in one week alone.
“That’s an average of 11 children every 24 hours,” Pires said at a Geneva media briefing, adding that the vast majority were impacted by airstrikes in southern Lebanon. He noted that seven children were killed and 30 injured in a single day.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have been displaced since March 2 and require urgent humanitarian assistance. Several aid organizations have warned they may withdraw from southern Lebanon due to relentless attacks, with about 40 hospitals in the south already closed.
Jeremy Ristord with Doctors Without Borders told Al Jazeera that if security deteriorates further, “we might have to leave certain areas.” He noted that 126 civil defence workers have been killed and 310 wounded since March, averaging four casualties daily, and that rescue teams fear additional strikes targeting rescuers.
Military Operations
Netanyahu visited troops near the Lebanese border Friday and confirmed Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River and advanced further. He stated Israeli troops were also operating in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley as part of operations against Hezbollah across Lebanon’s front.
Israeli forces have broken through Hezbollah’s second lines of defense and are now heavily bombarding the armed group’s third defensive positions, according to reporting from the Lebanese border.
This story has been updated. CNN’s international correspondents contributed to this report.
