Israeli air strikes have killed at least 2,883 people and wounded more than 8,700 in Lebanon since the conflict began on 2 March, Lebanon's Health Ministry said Tuesday, with the death toll continuing to rise despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in mid-April. Among the latest victims were two paramedics from Lebanon's state-run Civil Defense emergency service, Hussein Jaber and Ahmad Noura, killed in a strike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon while responding to an earlier attack. A third paramedic was injured in the same strike. Lebanese authorities described the targeting of the rescue workers as a deliberate violation of international humanitarian law, noting that more than 140 Israeli attacks on ambulances and medical facilities have been recorded since the war began, killing at least 108 healthcare workers. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States and agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments in April, has not stopped the fighting. At least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon since the truce came into force, including 22 children and 39 women. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel says it retains the right to act against attacks it deems "planned, imminent or ongoing," and has cited repeated Hezbollah violations as justification for its continued strikes. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia armed group and political movement, has responded with rocket and drone attacks on communities in northern Israel and against Israeli troops occupying parts of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday again rejected Israeli demands to disarm, vowing to turn the "battlefield into hell" for Israeli soldiers.

Beyond the military strikes, Israel has been consolidating what it describes as a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, roughly 10 kilometres north of the border, where ground troops continue to operate. More than one million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the United Nations, which has described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the displacement has come from southern Lebanon, the primary target of Israeli bombardments, with large numbers of people taking refuge in Beirut, where infrastructure is strained and power cuts are widespread.

The Lebanon conflict is closely tied to the broader war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, which began on 2 March. Iran, which funds and arms Hezbollah, has used the Strait of Hormuz — the critical waterway through which a significant share of the world's oil passes — as a pressure point. Israeli and Lebanese officials are expected to meet again in Washington on Thursday in an effort to stabilise the ceasefire. Israeli authorities report 18 soldiers and four civilians killed on the Israeli side since the ceasefire began. The UN and international observers continue to call for a durable halt to hostilities as the humanitarian toll mounts.