Lebanon president says Israeli strikes that killed 11 send 'clear message' on negotiations

In a statement on Saturday, Hezbollah warned that the latest Israeli attacks would "be met with an appropriate response." People inspect a damaged building following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansar. (EPA Images pic)ANSAR: Lebanon said Israeli strikes on the south killed 11 people including three children on Saturday, the deadliest raids since deals in June eased hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.Israel's military said the strikes in the early morning were in retaliation for an attack by the Iran-backed militant group on its troops in south Lebanon.They came as Israel and Lebanon were set to hold an eighth round of US-sponsored direct negotiations early next month in Rome.The sides agreed a framework deal at talks in Washington in June, but Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said Saturday's "violations are a clear message on the negotiations process and American efforts aiming to implement this agreement".Hezbollah said the Israeli attacks "will be met with an appropriate response", urging Lebanese authorities to abandon "the humiliating path of direct negotiations".Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that Israel "escalated its attacks on the south" early Saturday, reporting an airstrike on a home in the village of Ansar and a "series of airstrikes targeting the Ali al-Taher ridge", a strategic hill overlooking the Nabatieh area.It later reported another strike on the southern town of Deir Zahrani.Lebanon's health ministry said seven people were killed "including three children and two women," in Ansar, where Aoun said "an entire family" had been killed.The ministry said four other people were killed and 17 others wounded including a child and 11 women in Deir Zahrani, raising an earlier toll of two dead.'Extremely dangerous'In Ansar, an AFP correspondent saw a destroyed building as rescuers combed the rubble, and a swimming pool clouded and grey from dust and debris.Abbas Khalil, 60, said he was praying when the strike hit."We were shocked...

There's no justification for this," he told AFP.The Israeli army said it struck "Hezbollah terror infrastructure in the areas of Nabatieh and Ansar" in response to "action" by Hezbollah against Israeli soldiers in the Ali al-Taher ridge area.It later added that Hezbollah had "attacked our forces inside the agreed security zone", a strip of territory around 10km deep inside Lebanon where Israeli forces are operating, decrying "a serious violation of the agreement".In Deir Zahrani, an AFP correspondent saw hu… Lebanon said Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed 11 people, including three children, on Saturday in the deadliest attacks since agreements reached in June helped ease hosti... Acknowledging civilian casualties in strikes, Israel accuses terror group of deliberately housing women and children in Hezbollah 'military compound,' says they were family of targeted commander The post Israeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon after Hezbollah wounds 3 IDF soldiers in attack appeared first on The Times of Israel.