Israel pledged on Sunday to resume attacks against Hezbollah if it faces threats again, after announcing the death of a second military officer of the organisation in bombardments carried out on Saturday over southern Lebanon. Lebanese authorities reported eleven dead, including three minors, in the Israeli airstrikes in the early hours of Saturday.
Israel stated that three soldiers suffered serious wounds and that the bombardments targeted commander Samir al-Hajj Hassan, identified as a sector chief in Hezbollah's Radwan Force, in the town of Ansaar. The Lebanese health authority confirmed that among the dead were members of an entire family, plus 19 wounded in two aerial operations on Ansaar and Deir al-Zahrani in the south of the country.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday the death of a second Hezbollah commander in a bombardment on Deir al-Zahrani, identified as Abu Hassan Ala, described as a leading figure of Hezbollah's Badr unit. According to the Israeli military statement on the X platform, Abu Hassan Ala "participated in promoting multiple terrorist plans" against Israeli forces, including the launching of explosive drones. The army characterised the attack as a response to a Hezbollah operation.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the "continuous Israeli aggressions" against the south and their "repeated violations" of the framework agreement and international laws, after the bombardments caused the death of "an entire family from Ansaar". Aoun considered that the attacks send a "clear message" against US negotiating efforts to implement the framework agreement between the two countries.
A spokesperson for the US State Department stated on Sunday, according to reports from Israeli media, that the United States continues to insist that the "pilot plan" in Lebanon is the only solution, and that President Donald Trump "backs the tripartite framework, in keeping with our interest in regional stability and in preventing further conflict". The spokesperson added that "the path of pilot zones remains the only possible route for the long-term peace and security of Lebanon and Israel", and that Washington expects the Lebanese army to complete "cleaning" operations in the first pilot zones, with subsequent expansion and "dismantlement of Hezbollah as an integral part of this process". The US official held Hezbollah responsible for the recent escalation.
Lebanon's official news agency reported that an Israeli bombardment on a residence on the outskirts of Ansaar in the early hours of Saturday killed seven people, while other attacks targeted the strategic hill of Ali al-Tahir. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that among the seven dead were three minors and two women, and reported two dead and nine wounded in a bombardment on Deir al-Zahrani. The Israeli army said on Saturday that it had attacked infrastructure of "terrorist Hezbollah" in the areas of Nabatiya and Ansaar, following Hezbollah activities on the Ali al-Tahir elevation. Witnesses described the complete collapse of a structure in Ansaar, with rescue workers extracting remains from the rubble.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam commented that the "seven martyrs" in the Ansaar bombardment "are not military infrastructure, and the women and children killed are not military targets", asking Israel to "halt this escalation". Hezbollah announced that the Israeli attacks would be responded to "in an appropriate manner" and urged Lebanese authorities to suspend the negotiations it described as "humiliating" with Israel.
Saturday marked the highest death toll in Israeli bombardments on Lebanon in a single day since a memorandum of understanding to halt attacks was signed between the United States and Iran in June, and since the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel on the 26th of that month, which led to a significant reduction in violence. A eighth round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel with US sponsorship is scheduled to be held in Rome in early next month.