Anger in Lebanon as Israel launches deadly strikes despite diplomatic drive

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah says negotiating ‘with the enemy is wrong’, warns of ‘internal division’.Israel has launched more deadly strikes on towns across southern Lebanon, pressing on with its invasion despite a diplomatic push in Washington for direct talks between the two countries.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Wednesday’s attacks killed at least 13 people, just one day after a sit-down between Lebanese and Israeli envoys to the United States.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel and Lebanon hold direct talks for first time in decadeslist 2 of 3‘Food is unifying’: How Lebanon’s migrants are feeding the war-displacedlist 3 of 3Israel and Lebanon hold rare talks in Washington, DC, amid Iran warend of listAn Israeli bombing of the town of Jbaa hit a family home, killing a man and his wife, their son and their daughter-in-law, according to NNA, which reported that another five people were killed in the town of Ansariyeh and four in the town of Qadmus.In parallel, Israel launched more strikes south of Beirut, hitting two vehicles – one in the seafront town of Saadiyat and another on a coastal highway in neighbouring Jiyeh, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the capital.Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said: “There is anger here. People believe the Lebanese government should not have sat down with Israel, the enemy, which has already killed more than 2,000 people in the past few weeks alone.“What people want here is an end to the attacks,” she said, noting that the neighbourhoods had been “repeatedly targeted in Israeli strikes in recent weeks.”Residents, she added, were asking why the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah, which the former repeatedly breached with near-daily violations, had not been implemented.Hezbollah lawmaker slams Beirut’s ‘concessions’The meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli envoys was hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking the first direct contact in decades between the two countries.