At least seventeen people have been killed in Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon, the country's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported, as Hezbollah fighters continued to target Israeli troops along the border. Nine of the dead came from a series of at least four strikes on the town of Tayr Debba, just east of the port city of Tyre, where Israeli jets and drones hit multiple targets. Two more strikes killed three people in the nearby village of Deir Qanoun el-Nahr, while two others died in Seddiqin, south-east of Tyre. Separately, Israeli strikes on the city of Tyre itself killed eight people and wounded dozens, with Israel ordering an evacuation of the area, according to Channel 4 News. In the centre of Sidon, halfway between Tyre and Beirut, an AFP correspondent heard an explosion and saw a car burning; two people were pulled from the vehicle by rescuers. NNA said the car was targeted by an Israeli drone and that the two occupants died. One person was also killed in Tyre's Massaken al-Shaabiya district, NNA added.
The attacks came a day after Israeli strikes in Tyre killed eleven people, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israeli forces issued a new evacuation order for the city that included its Christian quarter for the first time. The Israeli military said it had struck six Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Tyre and ready-to-use launchers in several other areas of southern Lebanon on Tuesday, but gave no immediate comment on Wednesday's strikes. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group, announced that its fighters had targeted gatherings of Israeli troops and military vehicles in the southern Bayada and Yohmor areas with rocket barrages and shellfire.
“Israeli air strikes kill 17 in southern Lebanon, with nine dead in Tayr Debba, as Hezbollah retaliates.”
The violence comes amid wider regional tensions. Iran's leaders are demanding that any deal to end their war with the US and Israel must also cover Lebanon, complicating negotiations with US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Volker Türk announced on Wednesday that he was sending a team of human rights investigators to Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese government. The team will examine possible human rights violations committed by all sides since the start of March, with its findings expected at the end of July. The evidence gathered could be used in possible war crimes prosecutions. Israel has been informed of the mission, but it remains unclear whether it will co-operate.