Israeli strikes kill 12 in Lebanon ahead of US-mediated talks
Last updated: May 13, 2026 | 17:43
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, on Wednesday. AP
Security forces and emergency responders gather around a heavily damaged vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
Twelve people were killed by a series of Israeli strikes on cars in Lebanon on Wednesday, the health ministry said, as conflict between Hizbollah and Israel continued on the eve of a third round of US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel.
More than 10 weeks into the war that spiralled out of the Iran conflict, Hizbollah confirmed that the commander of its elite Radwan force was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs last week.
Hizbollah and Israel have been trading blows despite a US-mediated ceasefire announced last month, with hostilities largely focused in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are occupying a self-declared security zone.
Israel's attacks on Wednesday included three drone strikes targeting vehicles well beyond the main theatre of conflict in the south, on the coastal highway some 20km south of Beirut, security sources in Lebanon said.
TWO CHILDREN AMONG THOSE KILLED
The health ministry said those strikes killed eight people, including two children. A fourth strike killed one person near the southern city of Sidon, 40km from Beirut, it said.
Mourners react over the coffin of Lebanese Civil Defence member, Hussein Jaber, who was killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike during a funeral procession in Sidon. AP
Three more people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on cars in three locations further south in Tyre district, the ministry said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the strikes.
It said it was striking Hizbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and told residents to leave nine towns and villages where it intended to act against the group.
Hizbollah announced new attacks on Israeli forces in the south, including several using kamikaze drones.
WASHINGTON TALKS
Israel announced last week it had killed the commander of Hizbollah's Radwan force in a May 6 strike on the Hizbollah-controlled suburbs, identifying him as Ahmed Ali Balout.
Security forces and emergency responders gather around a heavily damaged vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Sidon. AP
A Hizbollah funeral notice confirmed the death of the "martyr commander Ahmed Ghaleb Balout." A Hizbollah official confirmed it was the same person. Balout is one of the most senior Hizbollah figures killed in the war so far.
It was Israel's first attack in the Beirut area since the April 16 ceasefire.
The US-mediated ceasefire was initially declared for 10 days and then extended by three weeks, meaning it should expire around May 17. It emerged after the highest-level contacts between Lebanon and Israel in decades, with Washington hosting two meetings between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US last month.
First responders and passersby douse flames on a burning vehicle targeted by an Israeli drone strike in the town of Jiyeh. AFP
Hizbollah strongly opposes the face-to-face contacts.
The US State Department will facilitate two days of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday and Friday.
The talks, which will build on an April 23 meeting led by US President Donald Trump, aim to advance "a comprehensive peace and security agreement," US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a May 8 statement.
MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE DISPLACED
During a meeting with the US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa on Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the US to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in the south.
Israel has been razing villages in the south, where it says it aims to shield northern Israel from Hizbollah embedded in civilian areas.
Mourners attend the funeral of Lebanese civil defence members Hussein Jaber and Ahmad Noura, who were killed in an Israeli strike. Reuters
The Lebanese health ministry says 2,882 people have been killed since March 2, including 587 women, medics, and children. Its toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.
Some 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon, many of them fleeing from the south.
