BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP)—Israel launched a massive series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite an extension of the truce between the two countries.

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.

And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on more than two dozen villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border.

It also reported a new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut.

On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend a ceasefire, which began on April 17 but has been marred by numerous violations, by another 45 days.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that he “welcomes” the extension and “urges all actors to fully respect the cessation of hostilities”.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and its forces are occupying territory near the border.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, regularly claims attacks on northern Israel and against the Israeli military in southern Lebanon, including multiple attacks on Israeli forces on Saturday.

– ‘What kind of a truce is this?’ –

Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel has also reported the deaths of 19 soldiers in southern Lebanon since fighting with Hezbollah erupted.

The latest strikes come after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held negotiations in Washington, following the first direct talks in decades last month between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.

They agreed to extend the ceasefire.

Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and claimed an attack against Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Khiam on Saturday.

The group justified their action by accusing Israel of ceasefire violations and “attacks that targeted villages in southern Lebanon”.

In a statement on Saturday, the group called the proposed establishment of a US-facilitated security track a fresh addition “to the series of free concessions” the Lebanese government “offers the enemy”.

“Many Lebanese see the extension of the ceasefire through this track as an extension of their ongoing killing and a cover for the aggression on them and their homeland,” the statement said.

Displaced residents from southern Lebanon say the truce is not being implemented.

“This is not a truce as long as Israeli attacks continue against the south and its people, with deaths, injuries and destruction,” said Ali Salameh, 60, from a school in Beirut where he has been displaced since the start of the war.

Others said they backed Hezbollah to keep fighting Israel in retaliation for its attacks.

“What kind of truce is this when they have just threatened villages and people are being displaced? Where is the state? We stand only with the resistance,” said Nawal Mezhir, also displaced from the south.

– ‘Lasting stability’ –

Lebanon’s negotiating delegation in Washington on Friday welcomed the truce extension and the creation of the US-facilitated security track, saying they “provide critical breathing space for our citizens, reinforce state institutions and advance a political pathway toward lasting stability”.

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, Israel struck the southern city of Tyre.

An AFP correspondent saw significant destruction at the targeted site near the coastal city’s ancient ruins.

“They destroyed the entire neighbourhood,” said Ibrahim Kahwaji, a tailor who was wounded in the leg.

“They are emptying the south of its population… It’s a real occupation. We want a solution.”