Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon Kill at Least 12

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Monday, killing at least 12 people and wounding several others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The raids targeted the village of Kfar Rumman and surrounding areas in Nabatiyeh province, marking a sharp uptick in hostilities despite a fragile truce in place for over two months.

The ministry said one strike levelled a building, killing 11 people — among them two children and four women — and wounding eight others, including three children and a paramedic. A separate attack on a car in the same village killed a medic affiliated with the Lebanese Islamic Risala Scout Association and injured two more people.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also reported multiple strikes in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa and a drone attack on a vehicle in Nabatiyeh city, with large plumes of smoke visible over the area.

The Israeli military said the operations were in response to two explosive drones launched by Hezbollah toward its troops in Lebanon on Monday. It added that the strikes targeted a Hezbollah operative allegedly transporting weapons into Kfar Rumman. Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the drone launches or issued any statement on the escalating violence.

The latest bloodshed comes days after Israel announced it had taken "operational control" of Ali Taher hill, a strategic vantage point overlooking several villages and key roads leading to Nabatiyeh. That development has raised fears of further confrontation along the border.

A U.S.-mediated framework agreement signed last June had envisaged an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament. However, implementation has stalled. Hezbollah, which is not party to the talks, has refused to surrender its arsenal north of the Litani River, while Israeli officials insist on full disarmament before any pullout.