Three Israeli drone strikes on cars on a major highway linking Beirut to southern Lebanon have killed at least eight people, including two children, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

Photographs of the bombed cars shared by Lebanon’s National News Agency showed the vehicles severely damaged, with charred and torn exteriors.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Tyre, said the “conflict is only escalating” and taking a high toll on civilians.

Lebanon and the Israeli regime are expected to hold a new round of direct negotiations in Washington on Thursday, brokered by the US. Hezbollah has opposed the talks.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military issued forced displacement orders for residents of six southern Lebanese villages, warning it would act “forcefully” and that anyone remaining “endangers their life.”

Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reported a growing humanitarian crisis, with over a million people displaced and hospitals in the affected areas struggling to cope.

Source: www.aljazeera.com