Lebanon health ministry says Israeli strikes kill 14 in deadliest day since ceasefire began

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed 14 people on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force over a week ago.

The dead on Sunday included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed.

The US-mediated ceasefire – which started on 16 April and has been extended to mid-May – has brought a significant reduction in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, though both sides have continued to fire at each other, trading blame over breaches. “Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday, adding “we act vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and also, by the way, with Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it would not cease its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and on towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continued its “ceasefire violations”.

Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it had attacked Israeli troops inside Lebanon as well as the rescue force that came to evacuate them. The Israeli military said one soldier was killed and six more were wounded. The Israeli military said it had intercepted three drones before they crossed into Israeli territory on Sunday, after sirens sounded in northern Israel. The toll includes 277 women, 177 children and 100 medics, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The ministry does not otherwise distinguish between militants and civilians, and Hezbollah has not announced a total toll of its fighters. The group has buried dozens of fighters in group funerals in recent days.