TEHRAN – The Israeli regime has waged a new round of aggression in Lebanon. The latest massacre has killed a family with women and children among the casualties.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced that at least seven people, including children, were killed and two others sustained injuries in an attack by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the town of Ansar in the Nabatieh district of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s official national news agency reported that the IOF attacked a residential building on the outskirts of Ansar, leading to the massacre of an entire family.

Meanwhile, at least three other civilians were killed and nine others wounded in an initial toll from an IOF attack on the town of Deir al-Zahrani in the Nabatieh district, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Ali al-Taher hill, located in the Nabatieh district, also came under IOF attack, with the occupying regime’s military carrying out eight airstrikes using warplanes.

The IOF attacks also bombed the vicinity of a teachers’ training college, the al-Deir neighborhood, and an area around a square in the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, in the same neighborhood.

Aggression is part of the Israeli regime’s continued violations of the so-called “ceasefire” agreement. The IOF has continued shelling villages and hills with artillery, dropping incendiary and stun grenades inside them, and carrying out airstrikes using both warplanes and drones, in addition to demolishing and bulldozing homes.

Hezbollah strongly condemned the escalating aggression and “brutal” massacre committed by the IOF on Saturday.

The Lebanese resistance movement stressed  that striking civilians and expanding the areas under attack reflect the desire and intent of Israeli Prime Minister and wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate the war to bolster his domestic political standing, serve his electoral interests, and appease the far right.

It held the occupying regime’s government and the U.S. administration fully responsible for the continued aggression, the violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and the provision of support and cover for these crimes.

In a statement, Hezbollah also called on the Lebanese authorities to explore all available means to halt the aggression and to stop insisting on “continuing along the humiliating path of direct negotiations and offering the enemy free gifts.”

The statement stressed that the time has come for a comprehensive reassessment of their calculations in a way that safeguards Lebanon’s sovereignty and rights, rather than continuing policies that have proven incapable of protecting Lebanon and its people, and urged the authorities to adopt a patriotic, courageous, and responsible position.

It also stressed the need for the Lebanese government to recognize that relying on U.S. mediation and guarantees is a “failed bet,” since the United States is a partner of the Israeli regime in its crimes and massacres against Lebanon.

The Lebanese resistance movement also condemned recent remarks by the U.S. ambassador in Beirut, who called for the surrender of Hezbollah weapons instead of calling on the occupying forces to withdraw, denouncing the comments as “insolent, coercive, and an outright bias in favor of the enemy and its security at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and people.”

Hezbollah stressed the need for all Lebanese political and social components to recognize the danger posed by the current authorities’ approach to Lebanon’s security and independence.

It warned the Israeli regime that attempts to impose a new equation cannot continue. The movement also warned that the invaders will be met with an appropriate response, insisting that the Lebanese will not compromise their sovereignty and national dignity.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that the Israeli escalation is “extremely dangerous and undermines efforts to consolidate stability in the south.”

In a post on social media, Salam said that those killed in the IOF strike on the town of Ansar were not “military infrastructure,” stressing that “the children and women who were killed were not military targets.”

He added that “the responsibility for dealing with any military infrastructure, if it exists on Lebanese territory, lies exclusively with the Lebanese state.”

Salam continued by saying that “the presence of military infrastructure does not give Israel the right to violate Lebanese territory or put civilians at risk.”

He concluded by saying that the Israeli regime “must stop this escalation.” He added, “The security of our people and their right to live on their land are not matters for negotiation or bargaining.”

Also, President Joseph Aoun criticized the ongoing Israeli aggression in areas in the south, particularly the Nabatieh area and its surroundings, as well as the regime’s repeated violations of the “framework agreement”, the work of the military coordination group, and international laws protecting civilians, which resulted in the killing of an entire family from the town of Ansar.

President Aoun said that these violations constitute a clear message to the negotiating process and to U.S. efforts aimed at implementing the agreement.

Critics have slammed both Lebanese leaders for their empty words, arguing that they condemn Israeli massacres on one hand and hold direct talks with the aggressor regime on the other. The direct talks have emboldened the Israeli regime to continue its aggression without accountability.

With Israeli elections looming, analysts argue that Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes, must prolong the state of war in the region to retain power. The ongoing aggression, they contend, serves as a political lifeline, diverting attention from domestic corruption trials and consolidating his voter base.