Israeli strikes kill 7 in south Lebanon - civil defence

Israeli airstrikes overnight in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre killed seven people, according to a civil defense source, defying a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The strikes hit a hospital and a residential area, causing casualties and damage.

One strike near Jabal Amel hospital killed four people and wounded seven, lightly damaging the facility. Another strike in a residential zone killed three people and wounded five, including two children. The Israeli military later issued evacuation warnings for nine southern Lebanese towns.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, retaliating for the killing of Iran's supreme leader. A conditional truce was announced this week, requiring Hezbollah to cease firing and withdraw from the border area, with the Lebanese army deploying to new zones. However, Hezbollah has rejected this agreement, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Eyewitnesses reported significant damage to a bank near Jabal Amel hospital, which has been targeted multiple times during the war. Many residents displaced by earlier strikes have sought shelter in Tyre's Old City, though some have left following Israeli claims of Hezbollah activity in the area. A drone strike also hit near a park where displaced Syrians were sheltering in tents. Petitions calling for Tyre and Nabatieh to be declared "open cities" free of armed presence, except for the Lebanese military, have garnered hundreds of signatures, though some signatories have faced online backlash.