Israeli strikes top 3,400 since truce, deepening pressure on Lebanon

BEIRUT – Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air strikes on Lebanon and hundreds of controlled explosions since the US announced a ceasefire for the country on April 16, Lebanon’s defence minister, Michel Menassa, said on Monday. 

The US-brokered ceasefire came into effect just after midnight on April 17, with Israeli troops still positioned deep inside southern Lebanon. 

While it has largely halted air strikes on Beirut and its suburbs, the truce has failed to halt fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. 

During a cabinet meeting, Menassa said that from April 17 to June 7, Israel had carried out 3,491 air strikes, 407 controlled demolitions and six “razing” operations, or demolitions, which have left some entire villages in the southernmost strip of Lebanon entirely flattened. 

The statistics were later published on X by the office of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Salam said the latest escalation between Iran and Israel had caused additional waves of displacement, straining Lebanon’s ability to host fleeing families.

Already, more than 1 million people, a fifth of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced by Israel’s strikes and evacuation warnings across Lebanon since the war erupted on March 2.

The latest conflict broke out when Hezbollah fired rockets on Israel in support of its ally Iran, which was being struck by Israel and the United States.

Hezbollah has continued firing at Israel and has rejected US-mediated talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials aimed at bolstering the ceasefire with a lasting agreement. 

On Sunday, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs in retaliation for Hezbollah fire on northern Israel. 

In response, Tehran bombed northern Israel, which has fired back on various locations in Iran. 

US President Donald Trump said last week that ceasefires in the Middle East involved “shooting in a more moderate manner,” rather than a total halt in fighting.