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Israel carried out several airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Friday, killing at least four people, while the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones, including one that crashed in northern Israel and wounded two soldiers.
Israel’s military and Hezbollah kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17. The state-run National News Agency in Lebanon reported that the four people were killed in strikes on three southern villages.
Israel’s military on Friday afternoon urged residents of the village of Habboush, near the southern city of Nabatieh, to evacuate, warning that those close to Hezbollah’s facilities would be putting their lives in danger if they stay.
Friday’s exchanges came after paramedics recovered the bodies of five people, including a man and his three sons, from under rubble in the village of Kfar Rumman, also near Nabatieh, a day after they were killed.
National News Agency reported that the five were killed in an airstrike late Thursday on Kafr Rumman. The agency identified those whose bodies were recovered as Malek Hamza and his sons, Ali, Fadel and Hamza. It said the strike also killed a Lebanese soldier. The Lebanese army confirmed that a soldier, Ali Jaber, was killed in the strike.
Iran’s supreme leader said in a statement that the future of the Persian Gulf is one without America, while U.S. President Donald Trump posted ‘No more Mr. Nice Guy’ on his Truth Social platform. Israel is also ordering evacuations outside of its ‘buffer zone’ in Lebanon, warning of strikes, as Hezbollah takes responsibility for a drone attack.
By Friday afternoon, Hezbollah had issued six statements saying it launched drones and rockets at Israeli military positions.
The Israeli military confirmed that Hezbollah launched an explosive drone that fell in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon.
Israeli media reported a drone strike near Margaliot in northern Israel, saying it caused a localized fire, and that two soldiers were slightly wounded in a separate Hezbollah drone impact in the area.
Residents continue returning to south Lebanon
Despite the war, residents have continued to return to homes in southern Lebanon after being displaced for weeks because of the hostilities.
One of them was Umm Ali Khodor, whose apartment in the southern port city of Tyre was damaged during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024 and again in the current conflict.
“We were displaced, we rented a house, but as you know the situation is very difficult,” the woman said. “We could not continue, so we returned to our home.”
The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when the militant group fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the United States and Israel launched a war on its main backer, Iran.
Israel has since carried out hundreds of airstrikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, capturing dozens of towns and villages along the border.
Since then, Lebanon and Israel have held their first direct talks in more than three decades. The two countries have formally been in a state of war since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
A 10-day ceasefire declared in Washington went into effect on April 17. The ceasefire was later extended by three weeks. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Friday that the war’s death toll reached 2,618, while 8,094 people have been wounded.