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Apr 05, 2026

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 14 Across Lebanon, Prompt Closure of Key Syria Border Crossing

AI Summary
Israeli strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon on April 5 killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens, while a threatened attack forced the closure of the strategic Masnaa crossing with Syria. The violence, part of a campaign that began on March 2, has already caused over 1,400 deaths and displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese.

Israeli air and ground attacks on Lebanon on Sunday claimed at least 14 lives, including four civilians in Beirut’s southern suburbs and ten people in the south, among them a family of six. The strikes also left 39 wounded in the Jnah neighbourhood, just 100 metres from the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Lebanon’s largest public medical centre.

The violence follows a broader Israeli campaign launched on 2 March after Hezbollah fired rockets in response to the U.S.–Israel war on Iran. Since then, Israel has combined aerial bombardments, drone strikes and a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah announced on Sunday that it had fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship stationed 126 km off the Lebanese coast, a claim that the Israeli military has not confirmed.

In a separate statement, the Israeli defence forces said they had begun targeting “Hezbollah infrastructure sites” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, though they provided no public evidence of the alleged targets.

On Saturday, Israel warned it would strike the Masnaa border crossing – the main trade gateway between Lebanon and Syria. The Lebanese side evacuated the post, and the Syrian authority, represented by Mazen Aloush of the General Authority for Borders and Customs, stressed that the crossing is “exclusively for civilian use” and announced a temporary suspension of traffic.

According to Lebanese officials, Israeli attacks since early March have resulted in over 1,400 deaths, including 126 children, and have displaced more than 1.2 million people. In the southern town of Kfar Hatta, an Israeli strike killed seven individuals, among them a four‑year‑old girl and a Lebanese soldier, prompting a forced evacuation order for the area.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun used a televised address to urge renewed negotiations with Israel, pleading to spare the remaining homes in the south from the level of destruction witnessed in Gaza.

These developments underscore the escalating humanitarian toll and the strategic pressure on Lebanon’s critical border infrastructure amid an already volatile regional conflict.