Israeli Drone Strikes Kill Four South of Beirut as Lebanon Death Toll Climbs

Four people died in Israeli drone strikes south of Beirut on Saturday. At least 13 more fell in southern Lebanon airstrikes. The toll includes a man and his 12-year-old daughter.

This isn’t a pause. It’s an escalation.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect April 17. Both sides have kept up the daily pounding since. The truce is holding, but the violence is intensifying.

Three drone strikes hit vehicles just south of the capital. The National News Agency reported the attacks. Two took place on the highway linking Beirut with Sidon. Several people were wounded there. The third strike hit a road leading to the Chouf region. Three people died there.

An Associated Press journalist saw a dead body on the highway in Saadiyat. Security forces and residents cleared debris from the road. The scene was chaotic.

In southern Lebanon, the death toll climbed higher. An airstrike on the village of Saksakiyeh killed at least seven people. One was a child. Fifteen others were wounded. The Health Ministry called this an initial count. The number could rise.

Strikes also hit Bourj Rahhal, killing three. Maifadoun took one.

The Health Ministry detailed the death of a Syrian man and his daughter in Nabatiyeh. They were riding a motorcycle. A drone struck them. They moved away from the site. The drone attacked again instantly. The man died. The girl, already wounded, moved about 100 meters away. She was hit again. She died in a hospital.

“The Ministry of Public Health denounces this barbaric targeting and the deliberate violence against civilians and children in Lebanon,” the ministry said. It cited “grave violations of International Humanitarian Law.”

Israel blamed Hezbollah for the escalation. The military said Hezbollah fired explosive drones into Israel near the border. Three soldiers were wounded. One was seriously hurt. Hezbollah also fired drones inside Lebanon. One hit an Israeli vehicle. No casualties there.

Hezbollah claimed several attacks inside Lebanon. It also fired a drone at an Israeli military post in Misgav Am.

The current war began March 2. Hezbollah fired rockets then. The fighting has not stopped. It has just shifted form.

Locals in Saadiyat and Saksakiyeh are living under constant fire. The highway between Beirut and Sidon is a kill zone. Commuters and traders face death or injury daily. The ceasefire is a political line on paper. The reality is a battlefield.

Read that again. The truce is active. The deaths are mounting.

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah says it is retaliating. The civilians in between are paying the price. The father and 12-year-old girl in Nabatiyeh are the latest proof.

The short version: The sky is falling south of Beirut. And in the south. And the count keeps going up.