Israel, Hezbollah Trade Attacks as 45-Day Truce Starts and Lebanon Toll Tops 3,020
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 20
Israel, Hezbollah Trade Attacks as 45-Day Truce Starts and Lebanon Toll Tops 3,020
8 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 20
A 45-day U.S.-backed ceasefire extension took effect at midnight Monday, but Israeli strikes hit more than half a dozen sites in south Lebanon and Hezbollah said it launched an explosive drone and other attacks.
One overnight strike near Baalbeck killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Wael Mahmoud Abd al-Halim and his daughter, according to Lebanese security sources; Israel confirmed killing Halim and said it had struck more than 30 Hezbollah sites in 24 hours.
Lebanon's health ministry raised the war death toll since March 2 to 3,020, including 619 women, children and healthcare workers, while Israeli authorities say 22 people have been killed on their side.
The fighting has continued since Trump announced a ceasefire on April 16, with clashes largely confined to southern Lebanon even as U.S.-led mediation runs alongside broader diplomacy over the U.S.-Iran conflict.
With a ceasefire broken in three days, is diplomacy a fiction in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict?
Can Lebanon's government achieve peace while Hezbollah wages its own war against Israel?
Is Israel's strategy creating a permanent, uninhabitable war zone on its northern border?
Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Escalates Despite Ceasefire: 3,000+ Killed, Regional Instability, and Humanitarian Disaster in Lebanon (May–June 2026)
Overview
Despite a US-brokered agreement extending the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by 45 days, fighting has continued relentlessly, making the truce a 'ceasefire in name only.' The deal controversially allows Israel to conduct strikes it claims are aimed at countering Hezbollah's military activities. As a result, Israeli strikes have persisted across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, leading to a severe escalation of violence and a tragic rise in casualties. This ongoing conflict has overshadowed plans for Lebanon and Israel to resume negotiations in June, highlighting the fragile and ineffective nature of the current ceasefire.