BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah said a US-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed its forces killed six Hezbollah fighters in a southern Lebanese town during a clash that included a firefight.

According to the military, troops identified six fighters operating in the town of Bint Jbeil, an area that saw heavy fighting before a ceasefire was declared last week.

US President Donald Trump announced the three-week extension on Thursday after hosting Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House. The ceasefire agreement between the governments of Lebanon and Israel had been due to expire on Sunday.

Israel claims killing of six Hezbollah fighters; group downs Israeli Hermes 450 drone

While the ceasefire has led to a significant reduction in hostilities, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade blows in southern Lebanon, where Israel has kept soldiers in a self-declared “buffer zone”.

Responding to the extension, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said that “it is essential to point out that the ceasefire is meaningless in light of Israel’s insistence on hostile acts, including assassinations, shelling and gunfire” and its demolition of villages and towns in the south.

“Every Israeli attack … gives the resistance the right to a proportionate response,” he added.

Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire agreement and has strongly objected to Lebanon’s face-to-face contacts with Israel.

Buffer zone

The April 16 agreement does not require Israeli troops to withdraw from the belt of southern Lebanon seized during the war. The zone extends 5km to 10km into Lebanon.

Israel says the buffer zone aims to protect northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, which fired hundreds of rockets at Israel during the war.

Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike killed two people in the southern village of Touline on Friday.

It said the death toll since fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah broke out on March 2 has risen to 2,491 people killed and 7,719 wounded, according to Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone, the group and the Israeli military said. Hezbollah identified it as a Hermes 450 and said it had downed it with a surface-to-air missile.

An Israeli drone was heard circling above Beirut throughout the day on Friday.

The Israeli military warned residents of the southern town of Deir Aames to leave their homes immediately, saying it planned to act against “Hezbollah activities” there.

Deir Aames is located north of the area occupied by Israeli forces, and it was the first time Israel had issued such a warning since the ceasefire came into force on April 16. Posted on social media, the Israeli warning gave no details of the activities it said Hezbollah was conducting in the town.

The Israeli military also said it had intercepted a drone prior to its crossing into Israeli territory, and that sirens were sounded in line with protocol.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026