Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center reported six killed and 22 wounded in Israel's air strikes on southern Lebanon Saturday evening.
Another six were wounded in evening air strikes in eastern Lebanon, according to the health authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the second wave of aerial attacks as a "continuation of the first series of strikes carried out this morning," Katz said in a prepared statement.
"The Lebanese government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory," Katz said. "Israel will not allow any harm to its citizens and sovereignty and will act in every way to ensure the security of Israeli citizens in northern communities."
The earlier IDF air strikes Saturday killed at least two in Southern Lebanon while targeting rocket sites and a Hezbollah command center.
At least five rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel Saturday morning, three of which the Israeli Air Force intercepted while the other two did not cross the border into Israel.
The second wave of IDF air strikes targeted Hezbollah command centers, rocket launchers, infrastructure, a weapons storage facility and terrorists, IDF officials said.
Hezbollah officials denied any involvement in launching the rockets and said they are committed to the cease-fire with Israel, the BBC reported.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon called for restraint following the exchanges Saturday.
"We strongly urge all parties to avoid jeopardizing the progress made, especially when civilian lives and the fragile stability observed in recent months are at risk," UNIFL officials said in a statement.
"Any further escalation of this volatile situation could have serious consequences for the region."
UNFIL officials said the "situation remains extremely fragile" and encouraged "both sides to uphold their commitments."
They said UNIFIL peacekeepers "remain in all positions."
One dead as Israel strikes Lebanon after cross-border rocket fire
Jerusalem (AFP) Mar 22, 2025 -
Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Saturday after intercepting cross-border rocket fire, with Lebanese state media reporting a woman was killed.
The Israeli army said three rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the region for the first time since a November ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned the country risked being dragged into a "new war" after months of relative calm.
The Israeli military said all three rockets were intercepted and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from any group.
But Israeli defence chiefs said they held the Lebanese government responsible for all hostile fire from its territory regardless of who launched it.
"We cannot allow fire from Lebanon on Galilee communities," Defence Minister Israel Katz said, referring to towns and villages in the north, many of which were evacuated after Hezbollah began firing on Israel in support of Hamas in October 2023.
"The Lebanese government is responsible for attacks from its territory. I have ordered the military to respond accordingly," Katz said.
"We promised security to Galilee communities, and that is exactly what will happen. Metula's fate is the same as Beirut's."
Armed forces chief Eyal Zamir warned the military would "respond severely".
"The state of Lebanon bears responsibility for upholding the agreement," he said, referring to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah which was signed by the government on the Lebanese side.
Lebanon's official National News Agency said Israeli air strikes and shelling had targeted several areas of the south.
One Israeli strike killed a woman in Touline, the NNA reported, adding three other people were wounded in the southern town. It had earlier reported Israeli strikes wounded two people in the border village of Kfarkila.
- UN 'alarm' -
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it was "alarmed by the possible escalation of violence" following the morning's rocket fire.
"Any further escalation of this volatile situation could have serious consequences for the region," it said.
"We strongly urge all parties to avoid jeopardising the progress made, especially when civilian lives and the fragile stability observed in recent months are at risk."
The Lebanese prime minister expressed concern at the flare-up.
"Salam warned against renewed military operations on the southern border, because of the risks they carry of dragging the country into a new war, which will bring woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people," his office said.
There was no immediate claim for the rocket fire on Israel.
Although Hezbollah launched the great majority of the rockets fired during the past two years, the Lebanese arm of Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed some attacks.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was supposed to pull its forces back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel has carried out repeated air strikes during the ceasefire that it said targeted Hezbollah military sites that violated the agreement.
The Lebanese army said it had dismantled three makeshift rocket batteries in an area north of the Litani on Saturday.
- Gaza assault enters day five -
Saturday's flare-up on the Lebanese border came as Israel's renewed offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza entered its fifth day.
Israel's resumption of military operations on Tuesday shattered the relative calm that had reigned since a January 19 ceasefire.
Israel's defence minister said Friday that he had ordered the army to "seize more territory in Gaza", which he would annex if Hamas failed to heed Israel's demands for the next steps in the Gaza ceasefire.
"The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel," Katz said.
The return to military operations was coordinated with US President Donald Trump's administration but drew widespread condemnation.
Hamas took issue Saturday with Washington's characterisation of its position, insisting that it stood ready to release all its remaining hostages as part of a promised second stage of the ceasefire.
"The claim that 'Hamas chose war instead of releasing the hostages' is a distortion of the facts," the group said.
When the first stage of the ceasefire expired early this month, Israel rejected negotiations for the promised second stage, calling instead for the return of all its remaining hostages under an extended first stage.
That would have meant delaying talks on a lasting ceasefire, and was rejected by Hamas as an attempt to renegotiate the original deal.
War monitor says Israel strikes military airport near Palmyra, Syria
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Mar 21, 2025 -
Israeli air strikes on Friday targeted the military airport near Palmyra in central Syria, a war monitor said, reporting the latest Israeli attack in the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
"Israeli warplanes targeted the Palmyra military airport," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad in December, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities whom it considers jihadists.
The Syrian rebels included those who once formed Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, though the new government has sought to distance itself from that past.
The Israeli military has also deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, separating the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan from that still controlled by Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria and said his country will not tolerate the presence of forces from the new authorities south of the capital Damascus.
Syria's foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against "the stability of the country".
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