Israeli airstrikes kill 13 in South Lebanon amid tensions

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 13 people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Lebanese sources, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an unusual appeal directly to the Lebanese people to turn against Hezbollah.

The strikes mark a sharp escalation in hostilities along the volatile border. And they come as Netanyahu attempts to drive a wedge between ordinary Lebanese citizens and the Iran-backed militant group that has long dominated the country’s south.

Detentions at the Border

Israeli forces seized a local councillor and a municipal worker from the border town of Kfarshuba, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. The Israeli military offered a different account, saying it had “apprehended” two individuals who approached its soldiers in the area.

The discrepancy in the two versions highlights the information fog that typically surrounds cross-border incidents. Lebanese officials didn’t immediately provide details about the circumstances of the detentions, while Israel maintained the two individuals had voluntarily approached their forces.

Netanyahu’s Direct Appeal

In a rare move, Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people directly, urging them to “free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end.” The appeal represents an attempt to exploit internal Lebanese divisions over Hezbollah’s armed presence and its history of dragging the country into conflicts with Israel.

But that message is unlikely to resonate widely in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have killed Lebanese civilians and where many view Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement. The group has deep roots in the country’s Shiite community and holds significant political power in Beirut.

Escalating Violence

Wednesday’s death toll of 13 represents one of the deadliest single days in recent cross-border fighting. The strikes targeted multiple locations across southern Lebanon, though specific details about the victims and the sites hit weren’t immediately available from Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah has engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces since the war in Gaza began in October. The group has described its attacks as solidarity with Palestinians, creating what amounts to a second front that has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

An Israeli security source said the military remains “prepared for all scenarios” along the Lebanese border. “We won’t allow Hezbollah to threaten our communities,” the source added.

International mediators have worked for months to prevent the situation from spiraling into full-scale war. Yet with each deadly incident, that prospect seems more difficult to avoid. The coming days will test whether diplomatic efforts can succeed where military deterrence has so far failed.