Israeli attacks kill at least nine people in southern Lebanon

Israeli attacks killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon this Monday (7), according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. These are the latest victims of Israel's intensified bombing in recent days, following the capture of a strategic hill that the country has sought to control for months.

The attacks in the village of Kfar Roummane hit a building and a vehicle, the Lebanese state news agency reported. A child and two women were among the dead, and at least 13 other people were injured, health officials said.

The Israeli Armed Forces stated, in a statement, that they are committed to the ceasefire, but that they will continue to "eliminate threats" from Hezbollah. The attack, according to the statement, would have hit "infrastructure installations" of the Shiite group. "The allegation that several people not involved in the conflict were affected as a result of the attacks is being analyzed," the note said.

The latest escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese group supported by Iran, began after Israel claimed, on Friday (4), to have seized the hill near the Lebanese city of Nabatieh, about 10 kilometers from the border.

The hill, known as Ali al-Taher, became a focal point in the conflict, which intensified again in March when Hezbollah attacked Israel following the US and Israeli offensive against Iran. Ali al-Taher sits above a sprawling underground Hezbollah base and offers a privileged view of the valleys and roads of southeastern Lebanon.

The seizure of the hill and the intensification of attacks have fueled fears that Israel intends to prolong its occupation of Lebanese territory and advance further into the interior of the country.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video address on Friday that the seizure of Ali al-Taher marked "the completion of the process of consolidating our control over the security zone in southern Lebanon," referring to a strip of Lebanese territory along the Israeli-occupied border.

Since then, Israel has intensified bombings of the surrounding region.

Israeli authorities have also over the past two days issued evacuation warnings for two villages north of Nabatieh, both outside the strip of southern Lebanon occupied by Israel since the start of the most recent war. Israel had issued only one other withdrawal warning since announcing a US-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon in June.

The truce has been unraveling as fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continues across southern Lebanon. Hezbollah did not participate in the ceasefire and does not respond to the Lebanese government, raising doubts about how the agreement would be implemented.

In recent days, the Israeli military said it carried out the strikes in response to Hezbollah drone offensives against Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and against sites it described as the group's weapons depots. On Sunday (6), Israeli attacks killed seven people, including two women, in southern Lebanon, according to the Ministry of Health.

On Saturday (5), Hezbollah condemned the escalation of Israeli bombings and stated that the objective was to pressure the Lebanese government — which is participating in negotiations with Israel mediated by the US — to give in to Israeli demands.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said on Sunday that the new wave of Israeli bombings represented "a dangerous escalation."

"President Aoun held the Israeli side fully responsible for this continued escalation and called on the United States and the international community to take immediate action to stop these violations and hold the perpetrators accountable," the office said.