Israel kills 12 in Lebanon car strikes despite active ceasefire

Israeli forces struck more than 30 locations across Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people — including two children — in a series of attacks on vehicles, The Korea Times reported, citing AFP, even as a ceasefire with Hezbollah remained nominally in effect.

The strikes come one day before Lebanon and Israel were set to resume direct talks in Washington, raising fresh doubts about a truce that has seen more than 400 people killed since it took effect April 17 — and more than 2,800 since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into a wider regional conflict in March.

Three airstrikes on cars traveling along a coastal highway 20 to 30 kilometers south of Beirut killed eight people, Lebanon's health ministry said — a toll that "resulted in eight martyrs, including two children," according to the ministry. One person was killed when a vehicle was struck in Sidon, about 40 kilometers from the capital, and three more died in attacks on cars in the Tyre district, The Korea Times reported.

Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons storage facilities and rocket launchers. Under ceasefire terms, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks."

The cumulative toll since the April 17 truce has been severe. Chadi Abdallah, head of Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research, said, "We have witnessed 5,386 housing units that were completely destroyed, and 5,246 housing units damaged." More than 10,000 homes in total have been damaged or destroyed since the ceasefire began, according to The Korea Times.

More than 200 children are among the roughly 2,800 people killed in Lebanon since the broader conflict escalated in March, the report said. Israeli forces continue to operate within a self-declared "yellow line" extending 10 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, conducting wide-scale demolition operations.

UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in Lebanon, said it was "increasingly concerned" about conditions near its positions. The force cited "the increased use of drones, which has resulted in explosions in and around our bases and put peacekeepers at risk." Separately, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned that his fighters would turn the battlefield into "hell" for Israel.

Lebanon's negotiating team, led by veteran diplomat Simon Karam, is scheduled to meet with Israeli counterparts Thursday and Friday in Washington — talks Hezbollah has vowed to oppose.