Israel claimed on Thursday that its strike on a southern Beirut suburb killed a top Hezbollah commander, as it continues heavy attacks on southern Lebanon despite a truce.
The Wednesday evening strike on a building in Haret Hreik apparently killed Ahmad Ballout, the leader of the militant group's Radwan Force . He is the most senior official to be killed since Haitham al-Tabtabai in November. Images showed the upper floors of the building destroyed in the strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the attack in a joint statement on Wednesday. Hezbollah has not released a statement confirming or denying the claim by Israel. It was the first attack on the capital's suburbs since a fragile US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in April. Fighting resumed between Hezbollah and Israel on 2 March, after a one-sided ceasefire faltered and the war with Iran erupted.
Despite this new truce, fighting has continued in the south, with Israel expanding its occupation.
The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for three southern villages on Thursday, ordering the residents of Deir Zahrani, Habboush and Bfarweh to leave before strikes.
Such orders have become routine for residents of towns and villages even outside the Israeli-established security zone along the border, where Israeli forces now occupy around 80 localities. The buffer area extends several kilometres inland, in some places reaching beyond the Litani River.
Most residents in this area, as well as in Beirut's southern suburbs, have been forcibly displaced by Israel.
Heavy Israeli attacks were reported in the southern city of Nabatiyeh , which killed one delivery driver, as well as the surrounding areas of Doueir, Toul, and Braiqaa. Deaths were also reported in Habboush, Ansariyeh, Saksakiyeh and Debaal.
The Lebanese health ministry on Wednesday raised the death toll since 2 March to more than 2,700, with over 8,300 injured.
Israel said seven of its soldiers were wounded in drone attacks launched by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, while the spokesman for the Israeli army revealed that one soldier was in critical condition. Hezbollah also confirmed it has launched several attacks on Israeli forces in combat areas. Peace, not normalisation The attack on Beirut comes ahead of planned talks between Lebanon and Israel set to take place next week in Washington, DC.
The United States is pushing for a broader peace agreement between the two countries, as both have held two preparatory meetings—the first in decades. President Donald Trump attended the second meeting at the White House.
Lebanon and Israel’s US ambassadors attended both rounds of preliminary talks, but Lebanese broadcaster LBCI reported that multiple senior Lebanese representatives, including diplomat Simon Karam, Consul Wissam Boutros, and the military attaché at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, will also attend the next round of discussions.
A State Department official said the talks will take place over two days, on Thursday and Friday, at the department’s headquarters.
Beirut seeks a permanent end to the decades-long conflict with Israel but has stressed that Tel Aviv must fully abide by the ceasefire agreement for full-fledged negotiations to begin.
Israel has vowed to keep its forces in southern Lebanon and continue its offensive if Hezbollah is not fully disarmed, a demand the group has rejected. It has also criticised direct talks with Israel.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has ruled out normalisation, stressing that the talks aimed to reach a deal with Israel that would put an end to attacks and occupation.
Salam said shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli government envoys, adding that the "minimum requirement" from the talks was to reach a timeframe for an Israeli withdrawal from the south.
He said while the state had successfully led its own diplomacy efforts with Israel, he acknowledged that Lebanon was not fully separate from the US-Iran talks in Pakistan .
The premier added that it was too soon for any meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu—something Trump has sought to achieve in recent weeks. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Aoun has refused to meet with the Israeli prime minister for the time being but has defended the negotiations as the only way to end the war and allow South Lebanon's residents to return home.