{"id":1222,"date":"2026-05-27T03:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T03:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/05\/27\/israeli-strikes-kill-31-in-southern-lebanon-as-netanyahu-expands-ground-campaign\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T03:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T03:39:39","slug":"israeli-strikes-kill-31-in-southern-lebanon-as-netanyahu-expands-ground-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1222","title":{"rendered":"Israeli strikes kill 31 in southern Lebanon as Netanyahu expands ground campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--banner-top o-ad-container--with-shimmer o-ad-container--with-background\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><br \/>\n                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-type=\"sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-status=\"disabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring__wrapper\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content t-content--article\" id=\"main-content\">\n<div class=\"t-content__above-sidebar\">\n<h1 class=\"t-content__title a-page-title\">Israeli strikes kill 31 in southern Lebanon as Netanyahu expands ground campaign<\/h1>\n<div class=\"m-master-tag\">\n<div class=\"a-tag-section\">\n                                    Middle East\n                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"t-content__chapo\">\n                                        Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed 31 people and wounded 40 on Tuesday, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said, including at least four children and three women, as Israel said it was intensifying operations despite a truce with Hezbollah. Hezbollah said it confronted Israeli troops entering the southern town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah.                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__with-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"t-content__beside-sidebar\" data-article-content>\n<div class=\"t-content__metadata\">\n<div class=\"t-content__dates\">\n<p class=\"m-pub-dates\"><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Issued on: <time datetime=\"2026-05-27T02:56:09+00:00\">27\/05\/2026 &#8211; 04:56<\/time><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-reading-time\">\n    <span class=\"a-reading-time__icon\" title=\"Reading time\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><br \/>\n    4 min    <span class=\"u-sr-only\">Reading time<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"a-share-button\" data-root-share>\n<p>                            <span class=\"a-master-button__label\">Share<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__authors\">\n<div class=\"m-from-author\">\n                    <span class=\"m-from-author__by-label\"><br \/>\n                By:<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-author\">\n<div class=\"m-author__name\">\n                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/author\/france-24\/\" title=\"FRANCE 24\" class=\"m-author__name__title\"><br \/>\n                                FRANCE 24<br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__main-media\">\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4807ae0a-51e0-11f1-9f52-005056bf30b7\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/41e4679c0ba694fb3a105cb96a599b38a696efc0.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4807ae0a-51e0-11f1-9f52-005056bf30b7\/w:388\/p:16x9\/41e4679c0ba694fb3a105cb96a599b38a696efc0.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4807ae0a-51e0-11f1-9f52-005056bf30b7\/w:720\/p:16x9\/41e4679c0ba694fb3a105cb96a599b38a696efc0.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4807ae0a-51e0-11f1-9f52-005056bf30b7\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/41e4679c0ba694fb3a105cb96a599b38a696efc0.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1012px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Israel launched new airstrikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                <span>Israel launched new airstrikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon<\/span>                <span>\u00a9 Kawnat Haju, AFP<\/span>            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__body u-clearfix\">\n<p>Israeli strikes on southern\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0killed 31 people on Tuesday, the Lebanese health ministry said, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israel<\/a> said it was intensifying attacks despite a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/truce\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">truce<\/a> in its war with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Hezbollah<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Iran-backed group meanwhile said it faced Israeli troops entering the southern town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, as the Israeli <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/military\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">military<\/a> said it was expanding its ground operations.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, the health ministry said 31 people, including at least four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/children\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">children<\/a> and three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/women\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">women<\/a>, were killed in attacks and 40 wounded.<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen were killed in Burj al-Shamali near Tyre, five in Kawthariyat al-Riz, four in Habbush, six in Maarakeh and two in Salaa.<\/p>\n<p>An AFP correspondent in the southern city of Nabatieh reported airstrikes following an unprecedented warning on the city and saw plumes of smoke rising from various locations within it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/lebanon\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Lebanon<\/a>&#8216;s state-run National News Agency said one of the strikes hit the vicinity of a public hospital, causing &#8220;significant damage to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hospital\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">hospital<\/a>&#8216;s departments&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-video\">\n<div class=\"o-video-player o-video-player--16x9\" data-media-video-wbmz551463-f24-en-20260527 data-show-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ551463-F24-EN-20260527\" data-wrapper-video-player data-youtube-script>\n<div class=\"o-em-consent \">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-consent__content__text\">To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.<\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"accept\"><br \/>\n            Accept<\/p>\n<p>        <\/button><br \/>\n        <button class=\"a-link\" data-action=\"manage\">Manage my choices<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock\" data-adblock-content>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-adblock__content__text\">One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.<\/p>\n<p>            <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"reload\">Try again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ551463-F24-EN-20260527\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4d47dc3a-5917-11f1-a467-005056bfb2b6\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/2026-05-26T151208Z-380046951-RC22HLAHAPYK-RTRMADP-3-IRAN-CRISIS-LEBANON-ISRAEL-NABATIEH.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4d47dc3a-5917-11f1-a467-005056bfb2b6\/w:388\/p:16x9\/2026-05-26T151208Z-380046951-RC22HLAHAPYK-RTRMADP-3-IRAN-CRISIS-LEBANON-ISRAEL-NABATIEH.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4d47dc3a-5917-11f1-a467-005056bfb2b6\/w:720\/p:16x9\/2026-05-26T151208Z-380046951-RC22HLAHAPYK-RTRMADP-3-IRAN-CRISIS-LEBANON-ISRAEL-NABATIEH.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4d47dc3a-5917-11f1-a467-005056bfb2b6\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/2026-05-26T151208Z-380046951-RC22HLAHAPYK-RTRMADP-3-IRAN-CRISIS-LEBANON-ISRAEL-NABATIEH.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) calc(100vw - 32px), (max-width: 1076px) calc(100vw - 44px), 850px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Una densa columna de humo se eleva tras un ataque israel\u00ed en Nabatieh, L\u00edbano, el 26 de mayo de 2026.\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                <span>Una densa columna de humo se eleva tras un ataque israel\u00ed en Nabatieh, L\u00edbano, el 26 de mayo de 2026.<\/span>                <span>\u00a9 Stringer &#8211; Reuters<\/span>            <\/figcaption><div class=\"m-item-image__overlay-wrapper\">\n                <button class=\"m-main-media-btn\" aria-label=\"Play the video\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"m-main-media-btn__picto\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-circle-loader\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><br \/>\n<time class=\"a-media-time\">01:36<\/time>                <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for at least 50 southern and eastern towns and villages on Tuesday, including Nabatieh city.<\/p>\n<p>An Israeli military official told AFP that troops had begun operating beyond the Israel-announced &#8220;Yellow Line&#8221; in south\u00a0Lebanon, which runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.<\/p>\n<p>As Israel&#8217;s operations moved deeper into south\u00a0Lebanon, Hezbollah said its fighters confronted Israeli troops trying to advance into a town that overlooks Nabatieh city on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters repelled an Israeli force early Tuesday that had moved toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah after airstrikes and heavy artillery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/fire\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The group claimed responsibility for a series of drone and rocket fires on Israeli forces in the town, and said it engaged directly with them.<\/p>\n<p>In eastern\u00a0Lebanon, the health ministry said &#8220;yesterday&#8217;s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Rescuers were still clearing the rubble in the eastern town, the ministry added.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli military in a statement said it launched &#8220;several strikes&#8230; in the area of Mashghara&#8221; on &#8220;Hezbollah infrastructure sites where terrorists&#8217; activity was identified&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanon&#8217;s state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported several Israeli strikes across the south and east.<\/p>\n<p>A strike on Srifa in the south killed a rescuer and wounded two others from the Risala Scouts association, linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, according to the health ministry, raising the rescuer death toll in the war to 121.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260525-possible-iran-us-deal-what-we-know\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Possible Iran-US deal: What we know about the key issues on both sides<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Drone attacks\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Several strikes also hit near\u00a0Lebanon&#8217;s largest dam in the Litani river&#8217;s Qaraoun lake in the east.<\/p>\n<p>The Litani River Authority issued a statement warning that &#8220;any direct or indirect targeting of the Qaraoun Dam or its facilities could lead to catastrophic risks for residents, infrastructure, and vital installations in the areas downstream&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>It called on authorities to &#8220;make the necessary contacts and take the necessary actions at the international and diplomatic levels to protect the Qaraoun Dam&#8230; from any attacks&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanon&#8217;s civil <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/defence\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">defence<\/a> said one of its rescuers succumbed to his wounds after a double-tap strike on the town of Qaraoun, near the dam, as he was tending to a man hit by a previous attack.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had bombed more than 100 Hezbollah targets across\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0overnight.<\/p>\n<p>The Iran-backed movement also claimed drone attacks on an Israeli army barracks in northern Israel on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli army on Tuesday said it &#8220;intercepted several explosive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/drones\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">drones<\/a> launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization toward Israeli territory&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu on Tuesday said his country was intensifying operations in\u00a0Lebanon.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The (Israeli army) is operating with substantial forces on the ground and securing strategically dominant positions. We are reinforcing the security buffer zone in order to protect the communities of northern Israel,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/united-nations\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">UN<\/a> secretary general spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday that on Monday UN peacekeepers in\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0detected &#8220;91 airspace violations, the highest number since the cessation of hostilities came into effect&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Also yesterday, Unifil reported 399 firing incidents attributed to the (Israeli army), and 11 trajectories of projectiles attributed to Hezbollah.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Israel has repeatedly bombed\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0despite a truce in its war with Hezbollah, saying it is targeting the group, while the latter has claimed several attacks on Israeli positions in southern\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0and Northern Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanese authorities say more than 3,100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, when Hezbollah drew\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/middle-east\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Middle East<\/a> war by attacking Israel in support of its backer Iran.<\/p>\n<p><em>(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"o-sidebar__aside\">\n<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--box o-ad-container--with-shimmer\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><br \/>\n                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__tags t-content__below-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"m-section-title m-section-title--small\">Keywords for this article<\/div>\n<ul class=\"m-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/lebanon\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Lebanon\">    Lebanon<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Israel\">    Israel<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Hezbollah\">    Hezbollah<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advertising Israeli strikes kill 31 in southern Lebanon as Netanyahu expands ground campaign Middle East&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}