Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in southern Lebanon despite reports of renewed ceasefire

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Nabatieh on Saturday. Photograph: Abbas Fakih/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Nabatieh on Saturday. Photograph: Abbas Fakih/AFP/Getty Images Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in southern Lebanon despite reports of renewed ceasefire Outbreak of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has forced mediators to cancel US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have killed at least 16 people, local authorities said on Saturday, despite reports of a renewed ceasefire aiming to end persistent violence that threatens the new agreement between the US and Iran. Lebanon’s civil defence agency said its personnel transported “16 dead and 12 wounded” to hospital, adding that they had been working “since the early morning hours” in the Nabatieh district in response to “ongoing attacks targeting the area”. A new outbreak of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel on Friday forced mediators to cancel talks in Switzerland that were supposed to start the process of turning the current interim agreement between the US and Iran signed this week into a more detailed deal that would cover Iran’s nuclear programme. The interim agreement calls for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. It has been fiercely criticised by Israeli ministers, officials and commentators, who argue that it stops Israel countering a threat from Hezbollah . ‘It’s a big mistake’: Israelis feel betrayed and angry after Iran peace deal Read more The Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in response to overnight projectile launches from the Iran-aligned Lebanese militant organisation. One of the deadliest Israeli strikes on Saturday hit a three-storey residential building in the southern town of Barish in the Tyre district, killing a father, mother and their two children, a local village official ‌told Reuters. Violence flared on Friday after four Israeli soldiers including a senior officer were killed when a tank was hit by Hezbollah, which said the strike had come after Israel had broken a previous ceasefire agreement by advancing. The Israeli attacks that followed killed 47 people, local authorities said, across southern Lebanon and in the Beka’a valley. The exact status of the new ceasefire reported to have come into effect locally on Friday evening is unclear. In public statements, Hezbollah has said it will abide by a ceasefire if Israel does, but has not said a ceasefire was actually in place. Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah parliamentarian in Lebanon, said his group had the right to respond to Israeli attacks. “There is talk of a ceasefire. For us, what concerns us is that the enemy fully … doesn’t attempt to attack our country and villages or seek to occupy any new position,” Fadlallah said in a statement. Inside the city of grief hit hardest by Israel strikes on southern Lebanon Read more The most recent round of war between Hezbollah and Israe