The deadliest strike hit the town of Habboush, where eight people were killed, including a child and two women, and 21 others were wounded, the ministry said. An earlier evacuation warning had been issued by the Israeli military, which urged residents to move at least one kilometer away and said it would act “forcefully” against what it described as Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes launched heavy strikes less than an hour after the warning, while an AFP photographer at the scene said thick clouds of smoke rose above the town following the bombardment.

Additional strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people, including two women, and wounded four others, while another strike in Ain Baal near the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and injured seven, according to the ministry.Israel has continued military operations in Lebanon despite an April 17 ceasefire intended to halt more than six weeks of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israel retains the right to respond to what it defines as planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.The Israeli military has maintained operations inside a so-called “Yellow Line,” a roughly 10-kilometer-deep zone along Lebanon’s southern border, where troops have carried out demolitions and detonations of buildings and infrastructure.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli forces on Friday demolished a monastery and a school run by a religious order in the town of Yaroun, following earlier destruction of homes, shops and roads. It also reported artillery shelling and strikes in other areas, including around Tyre and Shamaa.

Hezbollah said it launched a series of retaliatory attacks on Israeli troops and military sites in southern Lebanon, describing them as a response to repeated Israeli ceasefire violations.The group entered the wider regional conflict in March by firing rockets into Israel following the U.S.-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, according to the group’s previous statements.

Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes since March 2 had risen to more than 2,600 people, including 103 emergency workers and paramedics.Humanitarian agencies also voiced concern over the safety of rescue teams operating in conflict zones. Xavier Castellanos, under-secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said Lebanese Red Cross volunteers were carrying out missions under constant threat.

“When they go on a mission, they fear for their lives,” Castellanos told reporters near Beirut, adding that two Lebanese Red Cross paramedics were among those killed in Israeli strikes.He said attacks on humanitarian workers trying to save lives were “absolutely unacceptable.”

Trump said he had ordered envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Islamabad, where mediation efforts had been centered following the arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for talks with Pakistani officials.

Speaking before departing Florida and later in comments to Fox News, Trump said the revised Iranian offer failed to meet U.S. expectations and dismissed the value of sending negotiators for extended talks.“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there,’” Trump said, according to Fox News.

“We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want.”In a post on Truth Social, Trump added that there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership and said, “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them.”

The cancellation dealt a setback to mediation efforts in Islamabad, where Araghchi had concluded meetings with Pakistani leaders without direct contact with U.S. representatives.

Araghchi described the visit as “very fruitful,” while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Tehran would not accept what he called “imposed negotiations” conducted under threats or blockade.

Iran urged Washington to remove operational restrictions, including measures affecting Iranian ports, while maintaining that it would not accept maximalist demands.“Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands,” an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters.

Tensions remain elevated across the region despite a ceasefire currently in force after a conflict that began on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Tehran later launched retaliatory strikes against Israel, U.S. military bases and Gulf states, escalating fears of a broader regional war.

The standoff has also disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy corridor, while U.S. restrictions on Iranian oil exports remain in place, pushing energy prices to multi-year highs and adding pressure to global inflation and growth.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered forces to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon “forcefully,” testing a fragile three-week ceasefire and underscoring the broader instability surrounding the negotiations.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said earlier that Washington had seen some progress from Iran in recent days and hoped for further movement over the weekend.Vice President JD Vance, who led an earlier unsuccessful round of indirect talks in Islamabad this month, had also been prepared to travel again if negotiations advanced.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran still had an opportunity to reach an agreement if it made verifiable commitments on its nuclear program.“All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways,” Hegseth said.

Iran’s foreign ministry later confirmed that no direct meeting with U.S. officials had been planned during Araghchi’s visit and said Tehran would instead convey its position through Pakistan as mediator.

Defence Minister said ground operations and air strikes had achieved “many gains” but had not fully neutralised Hezbollah’s presence in southern Lebanon. He added that areas between Israel’s declared security zone and the remained uncleared of militants and weapons.
Katz said the remaining objectives could be achieved either through diplomatic channels or renewed military action once the ceasefire expires. Under the terms of the truce, Israel retains the right to act against what it describes as imminent or ongoing threats from Hezbollah.

As the ceasefire came into force at midnight, displaced civilians in southern Lebanon began returning to their homes after weeks of conflict. However, Katz warned that a resumption of fighting would likely force another evacuation of those areas.

Israel has maintained a military presence in parts of southern Lebanon and established a security buffer zone along the border, which it says has been cleared of militant infrastructure and residents. The defence minister said operations would continue to target remaining positions, including structures Israel alleges were used for militant activity.

According to details released by the United States, the ceasefire framework also places responsibility on Lebanon, with international backing, to prevent Hezbollah from launching attacks against Israeli targets.

The developments highlight the fragility of the ceasefire and ongoing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon frontier, where both sides remain on alert despite a temporary halt in fighting.