On Sunday, September 21, 2025, a devastating Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon tragically claimed the lives of five individuals, including three innocent children, as confirmed by Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri disclosed that four of the victims – the three children and their father – were U.S. citizens. Additionally, two others were injured in the attack, including the children’s mother.
When contacted for details, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut were not immediately available for comment.
Despite a Washington-brokered ceasefire agreement established in November to halt the prolonged conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has continued to conduct near-daily strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon.
The ceasefire agreement stipulated that both Hezbollah and Israel would withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and cease all cross-border attacks. However, Israeli forces have maintained their occupation of five Lebanese hilltop positions along the border.
The Israeli military issued a statement claiming the strike targeted a Hezbollah militant who was “operating from within a civilian population.” The military acknowledged the civilian deaths and stated that it is currently reviewing the incident.
“The IDF is actively engaged against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and will persist in its efforts to eliminate any threats to the State of Israel,” the statement affirmed.
Israel frequently asserts that its actions are aimed at Hezbollah militants or their infrastructure in Lebanon’s vulnerable southern region. While Hezbollah has publicly claimed only one cross-border firing incident since the ceasefire, Israel alleges that the militant group is actively working to rebuild its operational capabilities.
Lebanese authorities have voiced strong concerns that these ongoing strikes jeopardize the country’s recent initiatives to disarm Hezbollah and risk further destabilizing its already fragile security landscape. Hezbollah, for its part, maintains it no longer has a military presence south of the Litani River and insists on Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanese territory and an end to attacks before considering disarmament.
President Joseph Aoun, en route to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, vehemently condemned the strike. He urged the international community to pressure Israel to cease its military actions. President Aoun, along with the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, had previously endorsed an agreement last month aimed at the gradual disarmament of Hezbollah.
“There can be no peace built upon the blood of our children,” declared President Aoun from his office.
Prime Minister Salam, who, like President Aoun, pledged earlier this year to disarm all non-state groups, described the strike as a “message of intimidation aimed at our people who are returning to their villages in the south.”
He further emphasized on X (formerly Twitter), “The nations backing the cessation of hostilities agreement must exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately halt its attacks, withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories, and release prisoners.”
Hezbollah officials contend that the persistent Israeli strikes validate their refusal to surrender their weapons. They argue that the ceasefire agreement and its monitoring mechanisms, involving the United States, France, and United Nations peacekeeping forces, have proven ineffective.
Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah stated, “They have demonstrated once again that relying on official protection under international auspices has not guaranteed them security and stability.”
“All these attacks and killings perpetrated by the enemy will not compel our people to abandon their land and rights; instead, they will only reinforce the resolve of the people of the south to continue their resistance,” he added.
The protracted conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has previously resulted in approximately 4,000 casualties in Lebanon and the displacement of residents across the southern and eastern regions of the country.