Israeli Military Strikes South of Beirut as Hezbollah Launches Rockets at Israel
Hezbollah party supporters hold up an image of Lebanon's slain Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (R), as they demonstrate near the Governmental Palace to protest against the Lebanese authorities’ decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, in downtown Beirut on April 11, 2026. ©IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP

Two Israeli strikes on Wednesday hit vehicles south of Beirut, state media reported, while Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, soon after Lebanon and Israel agreed to continue holding direct talks. 

The Israeli military also renewed its call for residents of a swathe of southern Lebanon to leave as it continues to bomb the area.

Despite its ongoing attacks, Israel has not targeted the Lebanese capital since a series of attacks across the country on April 8 that killed more than 350 people.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported two separate Israeli strikes on two vehicles, both on the coastal highway around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Beirut and outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

An AFP photographer saw a burned-out van with firefighters working to extinguish the blaze.

Rescue workers were recovering human remains from the wreckage of the vehicle and its surroundings, and the army has established a security perimeter, causing a massive traffic jam on this major thoroughfare, the photographer added.

NNA also reported several other strikes across southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military meanwhile said it had detected "approximately 30 launches" by Hezbollah militants towards Israel since the early hours, a spokesman told AFP.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets at 10 northern Israeli areas.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Wednesday said the group's fighters "are preventing enemy soldiers from seizing control" of the key southern town of Bint Jbeil, 5 kilometres north of Israel.

The Israeli army had said on Tuesday that 10 soldiers were wounded in the town, which it says it encircled.

Wednesday's attacks come a day after Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the United States held their first direct talks in decades in Washington and agreed to hold further direct negotiations.

The Lebanese envoy called for a ceasefire, but no truce was announced.

Hezbollah strongly rejected the talks.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than a million since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.

AFP

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