Israel strikes kill 18 in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire; Iran warns of renewed US hostilities
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in southern Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, including a child and the mayor of Choukine, despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah that took effect April 17. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that renewed conflict with the United States is probable, as Washington approved over $8.6 billion in arms sales to Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Israel. The U.S. also announced the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within a year.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in southern Lebanon since Friday, the Lebanese health ministry and the National News Agency (NNA) reported, despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah that took effect April 17.
Eight people, including a child and two women, were killed in strikes on the village of Habbouche, the health ministry said. A separate strike on Choukine killed at least two people and wounded the mayor, Hussein Ali Ahmad, according to NNA. The Israeli army ordered residents of nine southern Lebanese villages to evacuate ahead of strikes, citing Hezbollah ceasefire violations. The army said it struck Hezbollah targets and dismantled over 50 Hezbollah installations in southern Lebanon.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Mohammed Jafar Asadi, deputy inspector of the Khatam Al-Anbiya command, said a resumption of hostilities between Iran and the U.S. is probable. “The facts show that the United States does not respect any commitment,” Asadi said, according to the Fars news agency. He added that Iranian armed forces are “fully prepared to face any new adventure or mistake by the Americans.”
The U.S. approved arms sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the State Department announced Friday. The approvals include a sale of Patriot missile systems to Qatar worth over $4 billion. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within a year, the Pentagon said Friday. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Europeans “must take more responsibility for our security.”
Donald Trump told a rally in Florida that the U.S. Navy acted “like pirates” in seizing an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. “We landed on the ship and took control of it. We took control of the cargo, took control of the oil. It’s very profitable,” Trump said. The president also declared in a letter to Congress that hostilities with Iran are over, bypassing the 60-day deadline for congressional authorization.
Two men, Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakrzadeh, were executed in Iran for espionage for Israel, the official Fars news agency reported Saturday. Oil prices fell on Friday after Iran transmitted a new offer to restart peace talks with Washington, with West Texas Intermediate crude settling at $101.97 a barrel, down 2.95%.
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