47 killed, 97 hurt in Israeli strikes in Lebanon

BEIRUT (Lebanon), June 19 (Agencies): Israeli airstrikes and bombardments killed at least 47 people and wounded 97 others in Lebanon on Friday, according to the latest updated toll from the Lebanese health ministry.
The dead included at least seven women and two children and the figures were released as a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was due to start.
Hezbollah said on Friday its fighters destroyed three Israeli tanks and that clashes were ongoing, hours after Lebanese state media reported that Israeli strikes in the south killed three people.
The fighting came a day after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, said on Friday that its fighters targeted "three Merkava tanks with guided missiles, which led to their destruction and setting them on fire".
This was after Israeli forces "consisting of an armoured platoon and an infantry platoon (tried) to infiltrate towards the northern side of the Ali al-Taher hills" -- a strategic site overlooking the key town of Nabatieh.
"The clashes are still ongoing," Hezbollah said in the statement released in the early hours.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli campaign.
Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and by launching a ground invasion in the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah's sway.
The hostilities have continued despite the US-Iran agreement.
Meanwhile, Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Friday that "all of Lebanon must burn" after Israel's military announced the deaths of four soldiers there.
"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn," Ben Gvir said in a statement.
"Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or on our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Friday.
Ben Gvir's comments drew a sharp rebuke from Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said Israel's only interest is a 'permanent war.'
"This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It's a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime. The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war," Araghchi posted on social media.
Israel's military said Friday it was striking Hezbollah targets in parts of southern Lebanon, despite a peace deal in the Middle East war that includes Lebanon.
Earlier, Abed Hachem rebuilt his home when it was damaged in a conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants in 2024, but is at a loss now that most of his village has been destroyed in Israel's latest round of strikes.
Where his house once stood in Qlaileh is now rubble; where his garden bloomed, dust, with more dust covering the toys and furniture strewn around the remains of his living room.
"Oh dear... Oh God. There was a building here... here... there was a building here," the 46-year-old father of three said as he pointed to the husks of buildings that once housed his neighbors.
The spire of the local mosque is one of few structures still standing.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of its ally Iran, drawing Lebanon into the regional war. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion that occupied parts of southern Lebanon.
More than 3,900 people have been killed, and 1.2 million people have been displaced, with Israel's forced evacuation orders emptying entire villages in southern Lebanon.