Israeli strikes kill 12 in Lebanon ahead of US-mediated talks

By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT, May 13 (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed by a series of Israeli strikes on cars in Lebanon on Wednesday, the health ministry said, as conflict between Hezbollah and Israel continued on the eve of a third round of U.S.-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel.

More than 10 weeks into the war that spiralled out of the Iran conflict, Hezbollah confirmed that the commander of its elite Radwan force was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs last week.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading blows despite a U.S.-mediated ceasefire announced last month, with hostilities largely focused in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are occupying a self-declared security zone.

Israel's attacks on Wednesday included three drone strikes targeting vehicles well beyond the main theatre of conflict in the south, on the coastal highway some 20 km (12 miles) south of Beirut, security sources in Lebanon said.

TWO CHILDREN AMONG THOSE KILLED

The health ministry said those strikes killed eight people, including two children.

A fourth strike killed one person near the southern city of Sidon, 40 km (25 miles) from Beirut, it said.

Three more people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on cars in three locations further south in Tyre district, the ministry said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the strikes.

It said it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and told residents to leave nine towns and villages where it intended to act against the group.

Hezbollah announced new attacks on Israeli forces in the south, including several using kamikaze drones.

WASHINGTON TALKS

Israel announced last week it had killed the commander of Hezbollah's Radwan force in a May 6 strike on the Hezbollah-controlled suburbs, identifying him as Ahmed Ali Balout. A Hezbollah funeral notice confirmed the death of the "martyr commander Ahmed Ghaleb Balout". A Hezbollah official confirmed it was the same person.

Balout is one of the most senior Hezbollah figures killed in the war so far.

It was Israel's first attack in the Beirut area since the April 16 ceasefire.

The U.S.-mediated ceasefire was initially declared for 10 days and then extended by three weeks, meaning it should expire around May 17. It emerged after the highest-level contacts between Lebanon and Israel in decades, with Washington hosting two meetings between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. last month.

Hezbollah strongly opposes the face-to-face contacts.

The U.S. State Department will facilitate two days of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday and Friday. The talks, which will build on an April 23 meeting led by U.S. President Donald Trump, aim to advance "a comprehensive peace and security agreement", U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a May 8 statement.

MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE DISPLACED

During a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa on Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the U.S. to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in the south.

Israel has been razing villages in the south, where it says it aims to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah militants embedded in civilian areas.

Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel after the war erupted on March 2.

When the April 16 ceasefire was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah's disarmament would be a fundamental demand in peace ⁠talks with Lebanon.

Hezbollah refuses to disarm, saying the subject of its weapons is a matter for national dialogue after the war.

The Lebanese health ministry says 2,882 people have been killed since March 2, including 587 women, medics, and children. Its toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.

Some 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon, many of them fleeing from the south.

Israel says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.