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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to "forcefully attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon" Saturday evening after the Israeli army accused Hezbollah of multiple ceasefire violations.
Subsequent strikes killed at least six people and wounded 17 in southern Lebanon, as Lebanon's overall death toll since March 2 rose to 2,496 killed and 7,725 injured.
Netanyahu's office issued a brief statement: the prime minister "ordered the Israeli army to forcefully attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon" following what the military described as a string of ceasefire violations.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli army said it had "eliminated more than 15 terrorists in southern Lebanon," including three driving a vehicle "loaded with weapons" and one on a motorcycle.
It also accused Hezbollah of "launching explosive drones toward Israeli soldiers" in the Qantara area that "detonated" near troops without causing injuries. Troops additionally found "an anti-tank missile cache in a Hezbollah weapons storage facility" and an underground shaft containing Kalashnikov rifles.
Netanyahu had said on Friday: "It is clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this ceasefire. We attacked yesterday and we attacked today. We are maintaining full freedom of action against any threat, including emerging ones."
Lebanese health authorities reported that four people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a truck and motorcycle in Yohmor al-Shaqeef in the Nabatieh district.
Two more were killed and 17 were wounded in an airstrike on Safad al-Battikh in the Bint Jbeil district.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli artillery shelling in Qantara, Qusayr, Wadi Hassan, Yohmor al-Shaqif and Houla. After Netanyahu's order, NNA reported strikes in quick succession on towns in Bint Jbeil district, Tyre district and Nabatieh district.
The Israeli army said it had "struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure used for military purposes across southern Lebanon" and would "continue to operate decisively against threats."
Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli army vehicle in south Lebanon in retaliation for the Yohmor al-Shaqeef attack.
NNA also reported a "violent explosion" in Khiam, a strategic border town where Israeli forces have been "systematically" destroying buildings, with an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent seeing a large cloud of smoke over the town.
An Israeli drone had been flying at low altitude over Beirut since morning. AFP reported that some residents fled Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, following Netanyahu's strike order.
The Israeli army also reissued its warning to residents to stay out of a ribbon of Lebanese territory approximately 10 kilometers wide running the length of the border within the "yellow line."
Lebanon's Cabinet Disaster Risk Management Unit reported five deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the total since March 2 to 2,496 killed and 7,725 injured.
More than one million people remained displaced.
Authorities continued to recover bodies from before the ceasefire took effect, with the latest rise in injuries attributed to newly reported cases.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad said Friday the group "firmly rejects" the ceasefire extension and "firmly maintains the right to respond to any Israeli aggression," adding that extending the ceasefire "makes no sense" given continued Israeli strikes.
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