Four people killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, state news agency reports

Israel claims to strike Hezbollah rocket launchers at southern Lebanon sites

Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in a village in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army operates in it as seen from the Israeli side of the border, Apr 23, 2026 REUTERS

Four people were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanon's state news agency reported, a day after six people were killed in the highest toll during the ceasefire that was recently extended.

The Israeli military said it had struck loaded rocket launchers belonging to Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in three locations in southern Lebanon overnight.

"These launchers posed an immediate threat to IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and to Israeli civilians," it said in a statement.

It named the locations as Deir El Zahrani, Reman, and Al-Saamiya in southern Lebanon, all north of its so-called buffer zone.

It was unclear whether the deaths reported by the state news agency were linked to the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military restated its warning for Lebanese residents not to approach the Litani River area in southern Lebanon while it battles Hezbollah.

It also said it had intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" within the area in which Israeli forces are operating.

A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Friday that a US-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless, a day after it was extended for three weeks. The truce had been due to expire on Sunday.

While the ceasefire has led to a significant reduction in hostilities, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade blows in southern Lebanon, where Israel has kept soldiers in the self-declared buffer zone.