Israel batters southern Lebanon with airstrikes and artillery

Israel launched an intense bombardment across southern Lebanon on the eve of Eid. Over 100 airstrikes were accompanied by ferocious artillery bombardments across the south and in Bekaa. Targets included a Palestinian refugee camp. Multiple people were killed.

Middle East Eye reported:

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that the Israeli army has begun a ground operation in Lebanon, crossing the “Yellow Line” demarcation stipulated by the ceasefire deal.

According to Israeli Channel 14, Tel Aviv is expanding its military operation beyond the line in the Nabatieh area.

Journalist Hala Jaber described horrific scenes:

In just hours, Israel has unleashed more than 110 airstrikes across over 20 towns &villages in south Lebanon & the Western Bekaa, alongside relentless artillery shelling.

Entire residential blocks flattened. Families buried alive. Children pulled bloodied from rubble. Rescue workers ordered to halt searches while survivors are reportedly still trapped underneath collapsed homes.

And all this unfolding on the eve of Eid al-Adha.

Jaber added:

There is nothing “limited” or “defensive” about these strikes. We are witnessing collective devastation unleashed by a depraved entity at full force & with full impunity.

More attacks on first responders

The settler-colonial state’s forces also killed two first responders:

🔴 Israel has killed two more first responders here in Lebanon.

Excerpt of the statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health:

“…The ministry salutes the efforts of the heroic paramedics and their continuous sacrifices in the face of the barbarism of the Israeli enemy,… pic.twitter.com/AzX1hBoyRP

— courtneybonneauimages (@cbonneauimages) May 26, 2026

Lebanon’s ministry of public health stated:

…The ministry salutes the efforts of the heroic paramedics and their continuous sacrifices in the face of the barbarism of the Israeli enemy, who is not deterred by international humanitarian law or international resolutions and norms, and continues to apply the law of the jungle, which confirms its continuous attacks that he believes only in it.

One US-led, Israeli-linked ‘humanitarian’ organisation even ordered first responders to stop searches despite people still being missing:

💢 Rescuers ordered to halt operations in southern Lebanese town as survivors remain trapped beneath rubble

The International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism — the U.S.-led committee comprising Israel, Lebanon, France, and UNIFIL tasked with overseeing the Lebanon… https://t.co/ggZTXZ0AFA

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 26, 2026

Drop Site News said:

The International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism — the U.S.-led committee comprising Israel, Lebanon, France, and UNIFIL tasked with overseeing the Lebanon ceasefire — has instructed emergency responders in Maarakeh, a town in southern Lebanon, just east of the coastal city of Tyre, to suspend rescue operations, despite confirmed reports that survivors are still alive beneath the rubble, journalists Hala Jaber and Courtney Bonneau report.

Adding:

At least 9 civilians have been killed in Maarakeh in the latest Israeli attack, with 4 injured and 4 still missing, according to Bonneau. Rescue operations have been suspended until tomorrow.

This figure has since risen to at least 12. The Israelis killed a father and his two young sons. They were among the first casualties to be named:

💢 Among the first victims identified in Israel’s strike on Haboush, near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, are Abdallah Tufaili and his two sons, Ali and Abbas, veteran journalist Hala Jaber reported alongside the accompanying photo. https://t.co/5nEtK9jt1O pic.twitter.com/5gMErUN9w6

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 26, 2026

Israel: colonial ambitions in Lebanon

Here’s a breakdown of how we actually got here – usually missing from legacy media reporting.

Israel violated the US-brokered Lebanon 2024 ‘ceasefire’ over 15,400 times since it was signed. Must be a world record. Yet a short salvo from Hezbollah in early March 2026 was framed as a signal outrage by legacy media. That attack has been cited by the settler-colonial state as a pretext to invade.

Not satisfied with pulling the US and its allies into a runaway war with Iran, Israeli troops have pushed into Lebanon with airstrikes pummelling the capital Beirut.

The Canary reported the early moments of the new war here. You can read about the secretive Israel-US ‘side letter’ pact which gave Israel carte blanche to keep bombing through the ‘ceasefire’ here. And our extensive coverage of Israel’s ceasefire regular breaches here.

Developments on a peace deal have displeased Israeli hawks. Middle East Eye reported:

Reports over the weekend said the deal centres on a memorandum of understanding establishing a preliminary 60-day ceasefire, which reportedly does not address Iran’s nuclear programme.

The initial framework is also said to include ending wars “on all fronts”, including Lebanon.

And there are fears that Israeli influence with the Trump administration is waning:

The officials are now said to fear that a US-Iran agreement could place restrictions on Israel’s future military operations in Lebanon and Gaza.

For Israeli leaders – insulated by unconditional US military support – it is loss of influence at court they fear most. By contrast, for the Lebanese there is a fear of a different order entirely: a fear of injury, of death and of permanent displacement from their homes. If nothing else, this perverse state of affairs captures the nature of this colonialist war.

Featured image via the Canary