Lebanon has urged the United States to act decisively after an Israeli drone strike in the south killed five people, including three children, in another breach of the US-brokered ceasefire signed in November 2024.

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President Joseph Aoun met Tuesday in Beirut with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asking Washington to guarantee that Israel respects the truce with Hezbollah. According to a presidential statement, Aoun also called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territory, requested US military equipment for the national army, and sought American backing for a reconstruction conference.

He underlined that the Lebanese Armed Forces’ mandate covers “all Lebanese regions” and described the present moment as a chance “to achieve just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East region.” Aoun is expected to raise the issue at the UN General Assembly later on Tuesday, where he will also denounce Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Sunday’s strike in the town of Bint Jbeil targeted a family vehicle. A father and his three children — including 18-month-old twins — were killed. The children’s mother and another daughter were critically injured.

The Israeli military admitted civilian deaths but said the attack was aimed at another passenger, allegedly a Hezbollah member. It justified the strike as targeting “a terrorist operating in a civilian population area” and claimed the incident violated “understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Lebanese leaders condemned the killings. Aoun and senior officials described them as a “new massacre.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, formerly president of the International Court of Justice, accused Israel of seeking to intimidate civilians returning to southern villages destroyed during earlier bombardments.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri identified the victims as Celine, Hadi, and Aseel, and said they held US citizenship. A US State Department spokesperson denied this, clarifying that none were citizens, though “one had an unused immigrant visa petition in the past.”

The attack comes amid intensifying calls from Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the Lebanese government for Hezbollah to disarm. The group has rejected these demands despite losing top political and military leaders to Israeli assassinations during the Gaza war.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem last week appealed to Saudi Arabia to rebuild relations and unite against Israel, saying the “resistance” axis was not the enemy.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have continued operations along the border. On Tuesday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported Israeli gunfire from a post in the occupied Shebaa Farms targeting Kfarchouba’s outskirts. On Monday, an Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb near civilians clearing rubble from destroyed homes in Maroun al-Ras. No casualties were reported.

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