Israeli strikes kill 8 in south Lebanon, Hezbollah launches retaliatory attacks

Israeli airstrikes and shelling on several towns in southern Lebanon killed at least eight people and wounded several others on Thursday, while Hezbollah announced retaliatory attacks against Israeli military positions.

An Israeli airstrike on the town of Doueir killed five people and wounded two others after warplanes struck the al-Barakeh neighborhood, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

In a separate strike, an Israeli air raid near a government hospital in the southern town of Tebnine killed two people and wounded another, the agency reported.

A hostile drone also struck a motorcycle in the southern village of Froun in southern Lebanon, killing its driver.

Hezbollah later said it launched a series of retaliatory attacks against Israeli troop and vehicle gatherings in the towns of Rshaf and Debel using rocket salvos.

Separately, Hezbollah's military wing issued a message to the group's leader Naim Qassem, pledging to continue operations against Israeli forces and reaffirming loyalty to the group's leadership and resistance strategy.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said that the cumulative death toll from the conflict since March 2, when the latest round of fighting began, has risen to 3,089, with 9,397 others wounded.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between April 16 and 17. On April 23, Washington said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the ceasefire by three weeks. Last week, Washington said the two sides agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 45 days.

Despite the truce, Israel has continued carrying out strikes in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has also launched attacks on northern Israel and Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Thursday that multiple "suspicious aerial targets" entered Israeli airspace on the day, triggering anti-aircraft sirens. The IDF said that several soldiers were injured in a drone attack by the Lebanese Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Israeli strikes kill 8 in south Lebanon, Hezbollah launches retaliatory attacks

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland.

"Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump wrote on Truth Social, without providing further details.

The remarks came one week after the Pentagon abruptly delayed a planned deployment of more than 4,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland, where Nawrocki was elected president last year.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced it had reduced the number of U.S. Brigade Combat Teams assigned to Europe from four to three, returning troop levels to those seen in 2021.

The decision resulted in a temporary delay of the deployment of U.S. forces to Poland, the Department of Defense said in a statement at the time, describing Poland as "a model U.S. ally."

Currently, there are around 80,000 U.S. troops based in Europe, among them roughly 10,000 in Poland, according to U.S. media reports.

The Pentagon announced earlier that roughly 5,000 U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Germany over the next six to 12 months.

Trump says US to send 5,000 more troops to Poland after Pentagon's delay