Hundreds of residents fled villages in southern Lebanon on Saturday, 15 August 2026, as Israeli airstrikes expanded, killing 11 people, including 3 children, and injuring 19 others, according to official sources. Hezbollah hinted at a response to the attacks and called for an end to negotiations with Israel.
Video footage showed lines of cars on the coastal road linking the south to the capital, Beirut, while dozens of families left with their children fearing an escalation in the bombardment.
Airstrikes hit Nabatieh, Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani
The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah military infrastructure following what it described as activity by the group against its forces in the Ali al-Taher Heights area overlooking Nabatieh. The strikes hit the outskirts of Nabatieh, the Ali al-Taher area, Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani.
According to the source report, the death toll was the highest daily toll since Lebanon and Israel signed the framework agreement in late June. Ansar lies about twenty kilometres from the border, outside what is known as the “yellow line”, which extends nearly ten kilometres into Lebanese territory and is occupied by Israeli forces.
Lebanese condemnation and hints of a response
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks, saying they represented a “clear message” to the negotiating process and US efforts aimed at implementing the framework agreement between the two countries.
Those killed in the Israeli strike on the town of Ansar were not military infrastructure, and the women and children who were killed were not military targets.
Salam called on Israel to halt the escalation, describing it as “extremely dangerous and undermining efforts to consolidate stability in the south”.
In a statement, Hezbollah hinted at a response, saying the Israeli attacks would be met “with an appropriate response”. It also called on the Lebanese government to immediately halt what it described as “humiliating” negotiations with Israel.
Framework agreement and expected talks in Rome
According to the source report, confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah began last March, when the group launched rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The two sides later reached a declaration of a ceasefire, before Lebanon and Israel began direct negotiations under US auspices.
The pace of violence declined after a framework agreement was reached on 26 June. According to the source report, Israel still occupies areas in southern Lebanon that it seized during the latest war, and continues to carry out airstrikes and demolition operations targeting facilities it says belong to Hezbollah.
The framework agreement calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory they occupy in southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, beginning in “pilot” areas. Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold an eighth round of US-brokered negotiations in Rome at the beginning of next month.
