Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made a public appeal on Sept. 6 for U.S. help after deadly Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.
Why it matters: The strikes hit towns near Lebanon's border with Israel, adding pressure to the fragile U.S.- and France-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. The exchange underscores how quickly violence can flare even as diplomats try to keep the border calm.
- Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least seven people on Sept. 6, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health.
- Aoun asked the United States and the wider international community to help stop the strikes, in a Lebanese presidency statement.
- Israel said it struck in retaliation for a Hezbollah drone attack on its troops a day earlier, according to AP.
- Lebanese officials said civilian infrastructure, including a hospital, was damaged in the strikes.
Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Sept. 6 killed at least seven people, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health, and hit civilian areas near Nabatieh and nearby villages in the border region. The Associated Press reported that the strikes damaged civilian infrastructure, including a hospital, in the same area. AP report
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun responded with a public appeal for outside intervention. In a statement posted by the Lebanese presidency, Aoun said Israel was continuing attacks on populated villages and called on the United States and the wider international community to help stop them. Lebanese presidency statement
Aoun said, "We ask the United States to help put an end to these attacks." He also accused Israel of "a systematic policy of aggression through airstrikes on inhabited Lebanese villages" and said the strikes showed "Israel's refusal to abide by its commitments under the ceasefire arrangement."
Israel said the strikes were retaliation for a Hezbollah drone attack on its troops in southern Lebanon a day earlier, according to AP. The episode highlights how the border remains volatile even under the ceasefire agreement reached after the broader conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
By the numbers
- At least 7 - people killed in the Sept. 6 strikes, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health.
- 1 day - between the Hezbollah drone attack cited by Israel and the Israeli strikes.
Yes, but: The casualty and damage reports are still evolving, and the accounts from Israel and Lebanese officials reflect competing claims about who started the latest exchange.