Israeli attacks kill at least 7 in Lebanon despite ceasefire' extension

Israeli attacks across Lebanon killed at least seven people despite a US-backed ceasefire extension. The strikes occurred days after Lebanese and Israeli officials met in Washington, DC and agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 45 days. The renewed violence followed earlier ceasefire violations that began with an April agreement. Among those killed was Wael Abdel Halim, a leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, and his 17-year-old daughter Rama, who died in an Israeli air strike on an apartment building in Douris. Additional strikes were reported across southern Lebanon, including multiple towns in the Tyre district and areas such as Harouf. US-mediated talks included a security track expected to start May 29, with further talks scheduled for June 2 and 3, while Israeli hostilities continued amid claims targeting Hezbollah.

"Israeli attacks across Lebanon have killed at least seven people despite a United States-backed ceasefire extension. The attacks on Monday came three days after Lebanese and Israeli officials held talks in Washington DC, which resulted in an agreement to extend their ceasefire for another 45 days. Israel has repeatedly violated the truce, which was initially agreed in April."

"The attacks on Monday included Wael Abdel Halim, a leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, and his 17-year-old daughter, Rama, who died when an Israeli air strike targeted an apartment building in the town of Douris in eastern Lebanon's Baalbek district, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. In the Jalil refugee camp for Palestinians on the outskirts of Baalbek, dozens of mourners marched through the camp after the attack."

"Israeli strikes also continued across southern Lebanon with attacks reported in Hanaway, Dibal, Deir Ammar, Deir Amess and Meirka in the Tyre district, according to Al Jazeera Arabic's correspondents on the ground. Additional strikes were reported in Harouf and other areas across the south."

"Last week's negotiations to extend the ceasefire marked the third round of US-mediated talks, which kicked off with the first direct meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in decades. Under the agreement, a US-facilitated security track is expected to begin on May 29 with another round of talks scheduled for June 2 and 3 in Washington, DC. However, the renewed diplomacy has done little to prevent Israeli hostilities that its military insisted are aimed at Hezbollah, which is publicly opposed to negotiations with Israel."

Read at www.aljazeera.com