At least 12 people, including a child, have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, as attacks continue despite a US-brokered ceasefire, according to Lebanese health officials and the country’s National News Agency.

Israeli forces killed at least eight people in Habboush, in the Nabatieh district, and wounded at least eight others, including another child and a woman. Another four people were reported killed in attacks near Tyre and Nabatieh.

Lebanon’s Civil Defence searched through the rubble of what Al Jazeera described as a massive set of air strikes that destroyed a residential neighbourhood. Reporting from the southern city of Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said the footage from the area was dramatic, with buildings completely flattened.

“We keep seeing this same kind of strategy throughout the country,” Hitto said. “There were strikes that killed and injured many other people in at least six other locations in southern Lebanon today, including women and children.”

Evacuation order before the Habboush strike

Israel issued a forced evacuation order to residents of Habboush, which lies north of the Litani River, before the strike. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, told people in a post on social media to move at least 1,000 metres away immediately. The town had also been attacked a day earlier without any warning.

The Associated Press independently reported the evacuation warning and the strike on Habboush, as well as four deaths in strikes on three other southern villages.

Israel also demolished houses, a convent and a school on Friday, according to the reports. At least 28 people were reported killed in Lebanon on Thursday.

Death toll passes 2,600 since March

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health’s Emergency Operations Center reported that 2,618 people have been killed and 8,094 wounded since hostilities began on 2 March. The death toll continues to climb despite the US-brokered ceasefire announced on 17 April, which has been extended to 17 May.

Israel has said its attacks target the pro-Iran Lebanese group Hezbollah, but a large proportion of those killed have been civilians, according to the reporting. Hezbollah said it continued attacks on Israeli forces and vehicles inside Lebanon, saying it targeted a Merkava tank and other vehicles, as well as soldiers in Sour. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon, which it calls a buffer zone.

Israel and Hezbollah began attacking each other after Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, before Israel intensified its attacks in September 2024, killing the movement’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. A ceasefire followed in November 2024, but it has been violated repeatedly, and Hezbollah resumed attacks on 2 March after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the US and Israel.

With strikes continuing on both sides and the ceasefire under strain, residents of southern Lebanon face further displacement and destruction, while diplomats work to prevent the fighting from widening into a broader regional conflict.

Frequently asked questions

How many people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes on Lebanon? At least 12 people, including a child, were killed in southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera, citing Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the National News Agency. Eight were killed in Habboush and four more near Tyre and Nabatieh.

Is there a ceasefire in Lebanon? A US-brokered ceasefire was announced on 17 April and has been extended to 17 May, but Israeli strikes have continued, with more than 2,600 people killed since hostilities began on 2 March, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

What does Israel say it is targeting? Israel says its attacks target Hezbollah, the pro-Iran Lebanese group, although a large proportion of those killed have been civilians.