The first days of the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran have turned out to be extremely deadly for Lebanon, with hundreds of people killed by Israeli strikes, including at least 357 on Wednesday.
Iran has said the strikes violate the truce, which it claims included Lebanon. Pakistan, which mediated the truce, also said Lebanon was included — but Israel and the United States say Lebanon was not part of the deal.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Friday that 13 members of his country’s security forces were killed in the southern city of Nabatieh in what was described by the local authorities as “the largest Israeli assault (there) since the start of the war.”
On Wednesday, just hours after the truce was first announced, Israel launched a massive wave of strikes that killed more than 300 people, including at least 30 children, and wounded more than 1,223, according to Lebanese authorities. This marked Lebanon’s deadliest day since September 2024. The toll has risen sharply over the past few days and Lebanon’s health ministry warned Friday that it is likely to climb even further.
The International Rescue Committee also said it was one of the heaviest days of violence in years.
“According to the WHO, three weeks’ worth of trauma supplies were used in a single day due to mass casualties, and stocks could run out within days,” the IRC said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged it had struck “in the heart of the civilian population,” but claimed it had killed at least 180 “Hezbollah terrorists” and taken steps to mitigate harm to civilians.
Israel continued to strike Lebanon on Friday, even after US President Donald Trump told NBC News in an interview Thursday that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “a little more low-key” in operations in Lebanon.
