Israeli airstrikes hit the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Rumman early Monday, killing at least 12 people, including two children and four women, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The attacks came as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues despite efforts to maintain a truce.
Deadly Strikes Hit Homes and a Vehicle
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said one Israeli strike hit a building in Kfar Rumman, killing 11 people. The victims included two children and four women. Eight other people were wounded, including three children and a paramedic.
A second strike hit a vehicle in the village. The ministry said that attack killed a paramedic with the Lebanese Islamic Risala Scout Association and wounded two other people.
The attacks added to a growing number of violent incidents in southern Lebanon. Israeli strikes on Sunday had killed at least seven people and destroyed an empty hospital.
Israel Says Strikes Followed Hezbollah Drone Attacks
The Israeli military said Monday’s airstrikes were retaliation for two Hezbollah drone attacks targeting Israeli troops in Lebanon. According to the military, the strikes targeted a Hezbollah militant who was attempting to transport weapons to Kfar Rumman.
Hezbollah did not immediately claim responsibility for the drone attacks or release a statement about the latest strikes around Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh province.
Israel also carried out a separate strike in Deir al-Zahrani after issuing an evacuation warning for a home there. The Israeli military said that attack was also in response to a Hezbollah drone attack. No casualties were immediately reported.
Residents Describe Fear and Destruction
For people living in Kfar Rumman, the latest attacks brought the violence directly into their community.
“We have been living in constant anxiety amid shelling on the outskirts,” resident Fouad Chakaron said while standing near a destroyed building. “Now they struck the heart of the town.”
Another resident, Saleh Medlej, said families with children had lived inside the destroyed building. Pointing toward the wreckage, he asked, “Are there missiles here?”
Despite the continued violence, Medlej said he had no plans to leave.
“I will not leave this place,” he said.
A Truce Struggles to Hold
The latest violence comes despite a U.S.-brokered truce between Israel and Hezbollah. The agreement has faced repeated violations, including Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah drone attacks against Israeli troops.
Lebanon and Israel also signed a U.S.-mediated framework agreement in June. Under the plan, Israeli forces were expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah being disarmed. However, little progress has been made.
Hezbollah was not a party to those talks and has said it will not surrender its weapons north of Lebanon’s Litani River. Israeli officials have said Israel will not withdraw unless Hezbollah is disarmed across Lebanon.
Mayor Calls Attack a “Massacre”
Kfar Rumman Mayor Abdullah Farhat strongly condemned the attack, describing what happened as “a massacre in every sense of the word.”
Farhat also criticized the framework agreement and Lebanon’s leaders, saying they “signed deals and we are paying the price here.”
“There is an enemy that is not concerned about anything,” Farhat said while discussing the strikes that have continued since the agreement was signed.
Southern Lebanon Faces Renewed Uncertainty
The deaths in Kfar Rumman show how fragile efforts to reduce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah remain. With civilians, including children, among those killed and both sides accusing the other of continued attacks, communities in southern Lebanon face renewed uncertainty. Whether the existing agreements can reduce the violence will depend on whether the parties can move from repeated retaliation toward implementing the commitments already made.
