Israeli drone strikes hit highway south of Beirut, killing 8, including 2 children

A person is seen inside a burning vehicle as men attempt to put out the fire after an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the coastal town of Barja, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine) 2026-05-13T10:34:28Z Beirut (AP) — Israeli drones struck three vehicles on the main highway south of Beirut Wednesday, killing eight people, including a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon, hours after telling residents of six southern villages to evacuate. Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of direct talks in Washington on Thursday as the Trump administration pushes for a breakthrough between the two neighbors that have been at a state of war since Israel was created in 1948. The Health Ministry confirmed in a statement the three strikes, but didn’t detail the number of people in each vehicle. Two of Wednesday’s drone attacks hit a highway linking Beirut with the southern port city of Sidon, while a third, reported the state-run National news agency, struck the town of Saadiyat, near the busy freeway. A fourth strike on Sidon’s northern entrance happened in the early afternoon, hitting a car, according to state media. An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of three people killed in two of the strikes near the coastal towns of Barja and Jiyeh. In southern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes were reported in different towns and villages while Hezbollah claimed launching more attacks on Israel as both sides keep exchanging fire despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on April 17. (