Netanyahu orders strikes on Hezbollah after ceasefire violations, Israel says 80 targets hit

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he held a security assessment with the defense minister and the military chief of staff following violations of the ceasefire and ordered the Israel Defense Forces to strike Hezbollah forcefully. In a statement, Netanyahu said the military hit approximately 80 Hezbollah targets, neutralized a number of militants, and carried out an airstrike on a command center belonging to the group in the Bekaa region. Netanyahu said the military would continue to counter any threats targeting Israeli forces and territory, and that troops would remain in the southern Lebanese security zone for as long as necessary to protect northern Israeli communities. The prime minister's office did not specify the scale or timing of the alleged ceasefire violations. The Israeli military announced earlier the same day that four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, including the commander of the 52nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade, with 17 other soldiers wounded. Separately, the military said it conducted an airstrike on the village of Tair Harfa in the Nabatieh district, while heavy Israeli air and artillery shelling in the area killed 16 people, according to Lebanese health authorities cited in regional reports.