Israeli Strikes Kill 41 in Lebanon in 24 Hours, Total 2,659

Israeli forces conducted multiple air strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least 41 people over a 24-hour period, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health. The strikes targeted various locations, including towns in Nabatieh and Tyre districts, and raised the overall death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 to 2,659, with 8,183 others injured.

News Agency reported that three people died in an Israeli attack on the town of Shoukine in Nabatieh district. An earlier strike on a car in the village of Kfar Dajjal killed two people, while a home in Lwaizeh was hit, resulting in three deaths. Two others were killed in a strike on the village of Shoukin, and Israeli warplanes also targeted the vicinity of al-Saada Bakery near the al-Quds roundabout in Nabatieh, as well as the town of Siddiqine in Tyre district.

A 10-day ceasefire began on April 17 and was extended until mid-May, but Israel has continued daily strikes, which it states target Hezbollah. Many of those killed have been civilians, and more than one million people in Lebanon have been registered as displaced since the conflict started.

Hezbollah stated on Friday that it would continue attacks on Israeli forces in Lebanese territory, reporting strikes on soldier gatherings in towns like Bint Jbeil and Hula, using artillery and suicide drones. The group also targeted a military Humvee in Taybeh and a Merkava tank in Rishaf with drones, and noted that three Israeli soldiers have been killed in recent days.

>"Essentially, it’s a diplomatic construct. " — Rory Challands, Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting from Beirut (Al Jazeera).

The conflict began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran, Hezbollah's main backer. Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes and a ground invasion, capturing dozens of border towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

China's envoy to the United Nations stated on Friday that no real ceasefire exists, describing it as a “lesser fire”. " — Fu Cong, China's envoy to the United Nations, May 2, 2026 (Al Jazeera). Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from the public, opposition, and military to abandon the ceasefire, with senior officers expressing frustration over ongoing injuries from Hezbollah's fibre-optic drones.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Amman reported that the Israeli army has indicated readiness to broaden the conflict if authorized.