At least 16 people have been killed and 58 wounded in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese health authorities, as Israel intensifies its assault and issues mass displacement orders across the region.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday that six of the victims belonged to the same family. They were killed in an Israeli drone strike while trying to flee at dawn along the Adloun Highway, a key route linking Sidon and Tyre.
The attack came as Israel expanded its bombardment across southern Lebanon, hitting residential areas, roads and civilian infrastructure. The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike in the Nabatieh area.
Israel has also issued sweeping displacement orders covering large parts of the south, including Tyre and surrounding areas. Residents were told to evacuate immediately and move north of the Zahrani River, roughly 40km from the Lebanon-Israel border.
In Tyre, Israeli air strikes hit a building and a cafe overnight, setting off fires and leaving emergency crews searching through debris for casualties. The Israeli military claims it is targeting Hezbollah "infrastructure", but strikes have repeatedly hit civilian neighborhoods.
Al Jazeera's Obaida Hitto, reporting from Tyre, said the attacks on the city were relentless. "Since midnight, there have been over a dozen strikes on the city of Tyre and its surrounding areas. The city, for the most part, is pretty empty," he added.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that Israel's large-scale forced displacements and continued strikes on urban centers are placing civilians at severe risk and deepening a humanitarian crisis.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect last month had failed to halt the violence. "It was just ink on paper. It remained very much an active warzone."
The escalation came as United States-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon are due to resume on Thursday. However, Israel has significantly intensified its military operations in the past two days, casting doubt over the prospects for diplomacy.
Source: www.aljazeera.com