At least five people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera; the violence came despite a 45-day ceasefire extension announced earlier in the week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “holding territory, clearing territory, protecting Israel’s communities, but also fighting an enemy that is trying to outsmart us,” as reported by Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tyre.

Continued Violence Under Ceasefire Agreement

The attacks occurred as the third round of ceasefire talks concluded in Washington, DC, following the first direct meeting in decades between Israeli and Lebanese officials. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that since the war resumed on March 2, at least 2,988 people have been killed and 9,210 injured in Israeli attacks, according to Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned militant group, has criticized the negotiations, calling them a “dead-end path.” Hezbollah legislator Hussein Hajj Hassan said the talks have led to “one concession after another.”

Netanyahu Authorizes New Airstrikes

Two days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire extension, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to launch “powerful airstrikes on Hezbollah,” according to AFP, and the Israeli military confirmed the attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, saying they would “respond resolutely to threats against Israeli civilians and the military.”

Netanyahu claimed in a post on X that Israel had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit. “No terrorist can be exempt, and the long arm of Israel will seize every enemy and killer,” he wrote. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir emphasized that “there are no constraints on the use of force” and that Israel would not “step back until the security of residents in northern Israel is assured,” as reported by the second Korean source.

Regional Tensions and U.S. Mediation

Despite reports that U.S. and Iran end-of-war talks are in their final stage, the expansion of Israeli attacks is heightening regional tensions. Al Jazeera reported that Israel carried out an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire with Lebanon and also launched attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The extended ceasefire was intended to allow for a U.S.-facilitated security track to begin on May 29, with the next round of talks planned for June 2 and 3 in Washington, DC. However, experts say “there was never a ceasefire to begin with,” as the original agreement that began on April 17 has not been observed.