• Israeli military strikes hit multiple towns across south Lebanon despite an April ceasefire with Iran-allied Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks reported across south Lebanon

Israeli forces have carried out a series of attacks across southern Lebanon, according to the country’s National News Agency.

Israeli aircraft struck the towns of al-Qantara and al-Mansouri, south of Tyre, while large explosions were reported near Bani Haiyyan and in Kfar Tebnit.

The NNA also reported heavy machinegun fire on the outskirts of Haddatha and artillery shelling of the town. Powerful explosions in al-Mansouri sent shockwaves through neighboring villages.

Further explosions were reported in Wadi Mazlam, near Beit Lif in the Bint Jbeil district, and in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, where three blasts were heard across the Nabatieh area.

Israeli air attacks target southern Lebanon towns overnight

Israeli aircraft have struck the southern Lebanese towns of al-Mansouri and Majdel Zoun and adjacent valleys overnight, while Israeli forces opened machinegun fire at dawn towards the Wadi al-Hujeir area near the village of Qabrikha, the country’s National News Agency has reported.

Qabrikha is a village in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh Governorate, roughly 10-12km east of the coastal city of Tyre.

European and Arab military chiefs to meet in Paris over Lebanese Armed Forces needs

European and Arab military chiefs are meeting in Paris today to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces’ needs and discuss the looming end of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, amid fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon, according to Reuters.

Israel and Lebanon have held several rounds of US-brokered talks aimed at easing tensions along their border. But with elections approaching in Israel and the United States, diplomats say a breakthrough is unlikely.

Today’s talks, which will initially be chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, are not formally part of Washington’s diplomatic efforts, according to the Reuters report.

The US, according to Reuters, will be represented by a senior military official involved in Middle East security issues.

Israeli drones flying at low altitude over Beirut and southern suburb of Dahieh

Israeli drones are flying at low altitude over Beirut and the capital’s Dahieh southern suburb, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported.

French, Lebanese presidents discuss efforts to end ‘Israeli aggressions’ in Lebanon

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed efforts to “put an end to Israeli aggressions” in Lebanon, the Lebanese presidency announced in a statement on X.

Meeting in the Élysée Palace in Paris, ahead of their meeting to support army and security forces in Lebanon, the two leaders agreed to continue communications and advance cooperation in various fields, particularly economically, and for the “resumption of oil and gas exploration in Lebanon,” the statement said.

Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria hold sit-in outside UNRWA office in Beirut

Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria have held a sit-in outside the headquarters of the UNRWA agency in the Shatila camp in Beirut, demanding urgent relief and services, reports the Lebanese National News Agency.

The protest was called by the Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, Palestinian-Syrian activists in Beirut and the FS Group, with representatives of Palestinian factions and civil institutions taking part.

Rami Mansour, speaking for the committee, criticised UNRWA’s policies of reducing services and called on the agency to set up an urgent relief programme to ease the crises facing the displaced.

A statement from Palestinian-Syrian activists described the difficult conditions facing displaced Palestinians from Syria and called for services and financial grants.

Sheikh Muhyiddin Sukkar, speaking for the Association of Palestinian Scholars in Lebanon, said the displaced people from Syria were a broad and important segment of the Palestinian people and demanded legal protection and services for them. He denounced UNRWA’s service cuts and stressed the need for a unified Palestinian position against them.

Lebanon’s president tells Paris meeting state must hold sole right to war and peace

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a preparatory meeting in Paris for an international conference to support the army and internal security forces that Lebanon had made a clear choice.

“Lebanon has taken a clear choice: the choice of the state,” Aoun said in a statement published by the Lebanese presidency. “A state that extends its authority over all its territory, protects its borders and its people, and is alone the decision-maker in matters of war and peace, with the bearing of arms exclusively in its hands.”

He said the tripartite framework reached with Israel under US auspices and backed by Arab and European states “aims to end the war and move toward a new phase”.

“From our friends and partners we ask for a clear position: help in implementing what was agreed in full, and dealing with Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a fixed principle that is not subject to selectivity,” he said.

Aoun added that the army’s role was expanding, especially in the south, where it must “strengthen the state’s presence, extend its authority and protect” the area.

Lebanese MPs push to extend UNIFIL mandate amid ongoing Israeli attacks

Lebanon’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Committee held a session to coordinate diplomatic efforts urging the UN Security Council to extend UNIFIL’s mandate and support full implementation of Resolution 1701, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Chaired by MP Fadi Allameh and attended by Defence Minister Michel Mansi, the committee met with ambassadors from UN Security Council member states and discussed the presence of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.

“The presence of UNIFIL is a fundamental pillar of stability and the only mechanism for communication to prevent friction and escalation along the Blue Line,” Allameh said. He said the Lebanese army’s deployment south of the Litani River requires continued partnership with UNIFIL to proceed “without creating any security gaps”.

Allameh called for a “realistic approach” linking any changes to UNIFIL’s mandate to the army’s operational progress, “moving away from predetermined dates,” given continued Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.

UK affirms ‘unwavering’ support for Lebanon

Britain has affirmed its full support for Lebanon, according to the readout of a phone call between a government minister and Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Youssef Raji.

The British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, Stephen Doughty, conveyed “unwavering and permanent support for Lebanon”, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.

As Israel continues to launch near-daily attacks in the south despite the April ceasefire agreement, Raji asked Britain “to exert pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks on Lebanese territory”.

Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2 rises to 4,386: Lebanese Health Ministry

The number of people killed since Israel escalated attacks on Lebanon on March 2 now stands at 4,386, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

An additional 12,407 people have been wounded during the same period, it added.

Israel carries out ‘massive explosion’ in southern village: Lebanese state media

The Israeli military has conducted a “massive explosion” in Aita al-Shaab village in the Nabatieh governorate in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese National News Agency reported.

Israel said last week it had demolished a Hezbollah tunnel network nearby.

Israel launches air attacks across southern Lebanon

Israel has launched several attacks across southern Lebanon in recent hours, according to the country’s state-run National News Agency.

Four air strikes by Israeli warplanes were reported in al-Qantara and Nabatieh al-Fawqa. Another attack was launched on the Lebanese town of Talloussah.