Israel army says striking Hezbollah in south Lebanon
Israel's military said it launched strikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon on Thursday, hours before U.S.-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel were set to begin in Washington.
"The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites in several areas in southern Lebanon," the military said after issuing evacuation warnings for a number of villages in south and east Lebanon.
The Israeli army had ordered the residents of Lebeya, Sohmor, Tefahta, Kfarmelki, Yohmor, Ein al-Tineh, Houmin al-Fawqa, and Mazraat Sinay to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on the south and east, including in areas not covered by the warning, a day after the health ministry said intense raids killed 22 people, eight of them children.
Lebanon and Israel are to hold new peace talks in Washington starting Thursday, as their latest ceasefire -- considered to still be in place despite hundreds of deaths in Israeli strikes -- nears its end.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 people during the truce, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.
Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 2,800 people in Lebanon, including at least 200 children, according to Lebanese authorities, a toll Hezbollah says includes its fighters.
Source: Agence France Presse
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