The Albany Gazette - Israel strikes south Lebanon day after ceasefire extension

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.

And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on at least five villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometres from the border.

At the same time it reported an new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut.

On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend a ceasefire, which began on April 17 but has been marred by numerous violations, by another 45 days.

Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for south Lebanese villages ahead of strikes.

Over this period their geographical scope has expanded to include areas north of the Litani River and further from the border.

The Israeli military also struck at least one town that was not included in the warning, near the southern city of Nabatieh.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and its forces are occupying territory near the border.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, regularly claims attacks on northern Israel and against the Israeli military in southern Lebanon.

- 'What kind of a truce is this?' -

Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel has also reported the deaths of 19 soldiers in southern Lebanon since fighting with Hezbollah erupted.

The latest strikes come after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held negotiations in Washington -- following the first direct talks in decades last month between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.

They agreed to extend the ceasefire.

Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and claimed an attack against Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Khiam on Saturday.

The group justified their action by accusing Israel of ceasefire violations and "attacks that targeted villages in southern Lebanon".

On Friday an Israeli strike hit a centre of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee in the southern town of Harouf, authorities said.

Six people were killed, including three paramedics, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Displaced residents from southern Lebanon say the truce is not being implemented.

"This is not a truce as long as Israeli attacks continue against the south and its people, with deaths, injuries, and destruction," said Ali Salameh, 60, from a school in Beirut where he has been displaced since the start of the war on March 2.

Others said they backed Hezbollah to keep fighting Israel in retaliation for its attacks.

"What kind of truce is this when they have just threatened villages and people are being displaced? Where is the state? We stand only with the resistance," said Nawal Mezhir, also displaced from the south.

- 'Lasting stability' -

Lebanon's negotiating delegation in Washington on Friday nonetheless welcomed the truce's 45-day extension and the creation of a US-facilitated security track, saying they "provide critical breathing space for our citizens, reinforce state institutions, and advance a political pathway toward lasting stability".

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, Israel struck the southern city of Tyre.

An AFP correspondent saw significant destruction at the targeted site near the coastal city's ancient ruins.

"They destroyed the entire neighbourhood," said Ibrahim Kahwaji, a tailor who was wounded in the leg.

"They are emptying the south of its population... it's a real occupation. We want a solution."

(O.Robinson--TAG)