Israel's Airstrikes in Lebanon Continue Despite Ceasefire: Lebanese President Condemns Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure

Israel has continued bombing operations in Lebanon despite a November ceasefire agreement. (Representational)

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun strongly denounced an Israeli overnight attack on civilian installations that reportedly claimed at least one life. Israel maintains the strike targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.

"Southern Lebanon has once again been subjected to a heinous Israeli aggression against civilian facilities - without any justification or pretext," President Aoun stated.

"What makes this latest attack particularly concerning is that it occurs following the ceasefire agreement in Gaza," he added, expressing concern about potential Israeli intentions to broaden its offensive against Lebanon.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, the strike on the Al-Msayleh area in southern Lebanon resulted in one fatality and seven injuries.

In a subsequent statement, the Israeli military confirmed it "struck and dismantled Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, where engineering machinery used to re-establish terrorist infrastructure in the area" was positioned.

The Lebanese health ministry later reported an additional Israeli attack on a vehicle in Burj al-Qalaouiyah in southern Lebanon, which killed one person. The Israeli military did not provide immediate comment on this second strike.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes conducted 10 raids targeting bulldozer and excavator yards in Al-Msayleh, destroying over 300 vehicles.

An AFP photographer at the location documented extensive destruction to showrooms, with dozens of heavy machinery vehicles burned while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.

"We woke up terrified by the sound of bombing," recounted an elderly woman who requested anonymity, adding that "we saw death with our own eyes."

Al-Msayleh, situated more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Israeli border, is the location of parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri's southern Lebanon residence.

Hezbollah condemned the strikes in a statement, describing them as "part of the repeated and deliberate targeting of civilians and economic infrastructure, intended to prevent people from returning to normal life."

The organization called on the Lebanese government to take a "firm" position against these attacks.

Despite the November ceasefire, Israel has continued bombing Lebanon. This latest attack comes just one day after a ceasefire took effect between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Concerns are growing in Lebanon about intensified Israeli operations against Hezbollah, which has so far resisted pressure to surrender its weapons to the state.

In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas during the Gaza war. Months of exchanges escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, before a ceasefire was negotiated two months later.