Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane killed at least nine people and wounded 13 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry [9][31]. The National News Agency reported a higher toll of 11 to 12 killed, including two infants, after a strike on a three-storey residential building and a separate drone attack on a vehicle that killed at least one paramedic [1][3][5]. The attacks brought the number of people killed across southern Lebanon over three days to at least 27 [16]. Parallel Israeli operations in Gaza killed five Palestinians, including two children — one a schoolgirl killed by a drone on her first day back at school — and in the West Bank a Palestinian man was shot dead in the village of Hajja near Qalqilya [4][24][25].
Israel's military and foreign ministry framed the Lebanon strikes as a response to Hezbollah launching two explosive drones toward Israeli soldiers in the self-declared security zone, describing the drone launches as a blatant ceasefire violation [6][15][26]. Israel's foreign ministry accused Hezbollah of "repeated drone attacks, weapons storage, terror infrastructure, command centres embedded in civilian areas" and said the group "continues attempting to rebuild its military capabilities in southern Lebanon" [7][18][20]. The Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons storage facilities, and a command centre established inside a building formerly used as a hospital, and that it "will continue to operate to remove threats while remaining committed to the ceasefire agreement" [6][10][16][27].
Lebanese officials and medical authorities described the same strikes as assaults on civilians and state institutions. The Health Ministry said the casualties — including women, children, and paramedics — constituted "further irrefutable evidence of the grave violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Israeli occupation, targeting medics and children" [5][9]. The ministry said an Israeli strike totally destroyed the disused Ghandour hospital in Nabatieh, calling it "another grave violation of international humanitarian law" [10][26]. A separate Israeli drone strike on an ambulance in Kfar Rumman killed paramedic Ali Shahrour and wounded two others, according to Anadolu Agency [17]; Middle East Eye reported that a second paramedic, Hadi Farhat, was also killed in the same strike [29]. The cumulative toll in Lebanon since March stands at 4,362 killed and 12,378 wounded, according to the ministry [8][28][29].
Residents of struck villages said the targeted buildings and their occupants had no connection to Hezbollah. Sara Moallaem, a resident of Kfar Roummane, said the civilians killed had no affiliation with the group and that "now that they are targeting civilians, I don't want to weep for my children" [5]. Fouad Chakaron, another resident, said that "since we returned here, we've lived in fear" and that the struck building was inhabited by peaceful people with no connection to anyone [6][27]. Abbas Toufeili described receiving a 2 a.m. call from the Israeli army telling him to leave his house, which was then destroyed while his family watched from the street [6][27]. In Majdel Selm, teacher Mariam Ghazal said residents near the occupied zone still feel at war, hear Israeli explosions and demolitions all day, and are angry at Lebanese authorities for negotiating with Israel [19].
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun called the strikes a "dangerous escalation" reaching Lebanese state institutions and health facilities, and urged Washington and the international community to act urgently to stop the violations [5][10][29]. Aoun said the attacks "target the framework agreement process and undermine all efforts to halt the escalation in southern Lebanon and the region as a whole" [16]. Nabatieh's mayor, Abbas Fakhreddine, said "the Lebanese government must take action... and at the least defend its institutions" after official buildings were damaged for a second time [10][33][34]. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry accused Israel of pursuing a policy of "`transformer le Sud-Liban, ses habitants et leurs biens en une urne électorale ensanglantée`" (turning south Lebanon, its inhabitants and their property into a bloodied electoral urn) ahead of coming elections [14].
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge "consolidates the security zone" and that the army will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon [19][32][39]. Amnesty International said Israel's self-declared buffer zone covers approximately six percent of Lebanese territory [29]. El País reported that nearly 330,000 people remain forcibly displaced while Israeli troops keep about 600 square kilometres of the south occupied despite the US-brokered truce [19]. The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar assessed that Israel seeks to make its "gray zone" occupation permanent [14]. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel released five civilians it had detained in the south after interrogation showed they were "civilians unaffiliated with terrorist organizations" [19].
Hezbollah rejected the US-brokered framework because it links Israeli withdrawal to the group's disarmament, a provision it called a red line [5][16]. Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar said "the language of resistance is the only language that is effective against the Israeli enemy" [5]. The group blamed the Lebanese government for continued Israeli aggression, saying its negotiating approach grants Israel cover for its attacks [35][36].
The conflict's regional dimension extended to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted three oil tankers in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian tankers [7][18]. Saudi Arabia said an Iranian attack on its tanker Sidr killed two Filipino seafarers, and Oman's Maritime Security Centre said it evacuated 16 crew members from the vessel [7][20]. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned that any foreign military deployment in the Strait of Hormuz "can only be regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences" [7][18]. Maritime intelligence firm Marisks said "commercial tankers are now being deliberately used as instruments of reciprocal economic pressure, substantially weakening the previous distinction between military confrontation and commercial shipping" [7][18]. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Gulf states cannot depend on the United States alone for security and must pursue "self-sufficiency" [20].
At the International Court of Justice, Nicaragua argued that Germany's arms exports to Israel facilitate genocide in breach of the UN Genocide Convention [7][18]. Germany's legal representative Julia Monar asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing it lacks jurisdiction and that Nicaragua "was not interested in hearing Germany's view on its allegations, but simply in bringing Germany before this court" [7][18]. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Israeli removal and crushing of rubble in Gaza "contains human remains and physical evidence relevant to the investigation of alleged international crimes, including genocide" and risks preventing recovery of more than 10,000 people still buried under debris [20].
The June US-brokered ceasefire framework, which tied Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah disarmament, has made little progress on either front [11]. Israel has issued new evacuation orders for Deir Ez-Zahrani and surrounding areas [14][28], while the Lebanese Health Ministry's cumulative toll continues to rise across all fronts [4][29].