• Strikes Beirut for the first time since truce
• Lebanese PM says premature to talk of high-level meeting with Israel

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley killed four people on Wednesday, while the Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah targets in the south, after warning residents of a dozen towns to evacuate.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement in force since April 17. Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several operations targeting Israeli forces in sou­t­hern Lebanon, as well as attacks on northern Israel.

An Israeli air strike on the town of Zellaya, in the West Bekaa region, left at least four people dead, including two women and an elderly man, the Lebanese health ministry said. Lebanese state media said the attack struck the house of the town’s mayor, killing him and three members of his family.

The town was hit shortly before the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning that included Zellaya, along with 11 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, most of them north of the Litani River and outside the area occupied by Israeli soldiers.

Israel carried out air strikes and artillery bombardment on a number of towns, including several whose residents had been warned to evacuate.

One of the strikes hit the town of Yohmor al-Shaqeef in the Nabatieh district. A cloud of smoke rose behind the town’s historic Beaufort Castle, which Israeli forces used as a base during occupation of southern Lebanon.

State media reported a series of air strikes in the south, including a targeted strike on a car and “significant damage” to homes and infrastructure.

Separately, Israel struck Beirut on Wednesday for the first time since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last month, with Israel saying it targeted a commander of the group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the action in a joint statement. Israeli media reported that the commander was killed in the strike, but there was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military or Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it is premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel, comments underlining the dim chances of one being held soon as hoped for by US President Donald Trump.

Salam said shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new round of negotiations that might be held by Lebanese and Isra­eli government envoys in Washington. He said Leba­non was not seeking normalisation with Israel, but rather achieving peace. The current circumstances “are not ripe to talk about high-level meetings,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026