Israeli airstrike hits missile launcher in southern Lebanon

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Israeli military said Monday it carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon targeting a “loaded and ready-to-fire launcher” in the Qalaouiye area, as cross-border tensions persist despite ongoing ceasefire efforts.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the strike was a “preemptive maneuver,” adding the launcher was located north of a designated defense line and posed a threat to communities in northern Israel.

The IDF on Sunday announced a “Forward Defense Line” inside southern Lebanon, after Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched retaliatory strikes against Israel in early March in support of Iran during its conflict with the United States and Israel. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire on Thursday following their first high-level direct talks in more than 30 years on Tuesday with US mediation.

The Israeli military said five divisions are currently operating south of the newly defined line, aiming to dismantle what it described as “Hezbollah terror infrastructure” and prevent cross-border attacks.

The attack on the launcher came after the IDF reported a fatal ground encounter, stating that soldiers identified an armed individual who violated the ceasefire agreement by crossing the defense line. It said the individual advanced toward Israeli troop positions, posing an immediate threat, and was subsequently killed by soldiers on site.

The developments come amid a broader US and Israel military campaign against Iran launched on February 28, targeting sites across the country during six weeks of hostilities. The fighting paused on April 8 after Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week halt, following waves of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel and US interests in the region that also put strategic Strait of Hormuz in a chokehold.

The escalation in Lebanon also coincides with rising maritime tensions between the US and Iran. On Sunday, US Marines seized the Iranian-flagged commercial vessel M/V Touska, which was traveling from China to Iran, according to American officials, further straining the Washington-Tehran ceasefire set to expire Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that his negotiators were heading to Islamabad on Monday evening to reach a deal, after talks there failed over a week earlier. However, on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran does not plan to attend the meeting.

According to state media, Baghaei accused the US of having “betrayed diplomacy” twice in recent months by launching attacks on Iran during ongoing negotiations. He added that if the US or Israel carries out further attacks on Iranian territory, Iran’s forces will use “all their might” to defend the country.