J070-LIBANO BOMBARDEOS

Explosions rocked southern Lebanon's Nabatieh on Thursday (April 16) and thick plumes of smoke billowed as Lebanon's state news agency reported Israeli strikes on the area.

Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon, notably in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday (April 15) the Israeli military was about to "overcome." A senior Lebanese official said that Lebanon’s assessment was that Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made.

An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into the south, a senior Lebanese security source said, fully severing almost a tenth of Lebanon from the rest of the country after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war.

Hezbollah announced new rocket attacks at Israel. In Israel, sirens rang out warning of incoming rockets, sending residents of several northern Israeli towns running to bomb shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Israel's cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official said, while U.S. President Donald Trump announced the leaders of the two countries would speak for the first time in decades.

Two senior Lebanese officials said they had been briefed that efforts were underway for a ceasefire but had no further details on how long it would last or when it would be announced.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since March 2 and forced more than 1.2 million from their homes, Lebanese authorities say. Hezbollah attacks have killed two ⁠Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, Israel says.