Published On 4/26/2026
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Last update: 20:28 (Mecca time)
Lebanese Hezbollah said that its continued targeting of Israel is a “legitimate response to its persistent violations of the ceasefire.” Meanwhile, Israeli raids on several towns in southern Lebanon resulted in the killing of 13 people during the last 24 hours, and the Israeli army announced the killing of a soldier in battles in southern Lebanon.
The party said, in a statement, that extending the truce for additional weeks was supposed to bring about a ceasefire, “but the enemy escalated its aggression and attacks.”
He added, “The authority in Lebanon stands silent, unable to carry out its duty, while the enemy is blowing up homes and burning green and dry land.”
He stressed that Israel’s continued violation of the ceasefire and its attacks will be met with response and resistance.
Hezbollah said, “We will not wait or bet on a failed diplomacy that has proven its failure, nor on an authority that has failed to protect its homeland.”
He warned against an attempt to implicate the Lebanese authority in a bilateral agreement between Netanyahu and Washington on which Lebanon had no opinion or position.
He added that his continued targeting of Israeli army concentrations in the occupied Lebanese territories, and the bombing of his settlements in northern Israel, comes as a “legitimate response to his prolonged violations of the ceasefire,” which, according to him, amounted to “500 land, sea and air violations” since April 17 of this year.
Attempt to implicate
For his part, Hezbollah member of the Lebanese Parliament, Ihab Hamadeh, warned of what he described as “an attempt to implicate Lebanon” in understandings between Israel and the United States, accusing the Lebanese authority of being unable to confront Israeli violations, and even of complicity with them.
In statements to Al Jazeera Mubasher, Hamadeh said that the party’s latest statement represents the minimum expression of the seriousness of what is happening, considering that what is happening in southern Lebanon is taking place with a Lebanese signature, in reference to what he described as an alliance announced in Washington between the Lebanese authority and Israel.
He added that the absence of any official Lebanese position regarding the Israeli escalation reflects a suspicious silence regarding what the south is being exposed to.
Hamadeh held officials in the Lebanese state, from the Presidency of the Republic to the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for every drop of blood, in light of what he described as giving Israel cover to continue its operations. He also pointed out that US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding Israel’s free hand contributed to the escalation of the situation.
The Lebanese MP stressed that the party adhered to the truce announced through international mediation, but in return he stressed that the continued Israeli violations put it in a position of “self-defense,” saying that commitment to the ceasefire is contingent on the commitment of the Israeli side.
In what appeared to be a direct warning, Hamadeh described the party’s statement as perhaps the last warning to the Lebanese authority, calling for stopping any negotiating path with Israel and turning towards the option of resistance. He stressed that the party will not stand idly by, and that it has tools that may be unprecedented to respond in the next stage.
Mutual targeting
On the field, The Israeli army announced A soldier was killed and 6 were wounded in battles in the south Lebanon.
He said that he attacked militants and Hezbollah military infrastructure north of the front defense line, noting that missile launch cells, a weapons warehouse, and military buildings belonging to the party were targeted.
The Israeli army added that it intercepted a drone in the area where its forces operate in southern Lebanon, in addition to intercepting three “hostile” drones before they entered the airspace.
In this context, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the towns of Khirbet Salam, Beit Yahoun, and Zawtar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon were subjected to Israeli raids.
For its part, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted, with two assault drones, a Merkava tank and an Israeli army evacuation force in the town square of Taybeh, confirming that “confirmed casualties” had been achieved without providing additional details.
He added that he targeted, with a swarm of drones, the Israeli army’s new artillery base in Bayyada, southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that 13 people were killed during the last 24 hours, raising the toll of Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 to 2,509 dead and 7,755 injured.
These developments come despite US President Donald Trump announcing on Thursday a 3-week extension of the ceasefire that began on April 17, following a new round of talks in the White House between the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel.
Despite the truce taking effect, Israel continues to carry out air and artillery strikes in southern Lebanon, as it announced the establishment of what it calls the Yellow Line and prevented residents from returning to dozens of villages located within it.
