SOUTHERN LEBANON — The Israeli military said it has established a "yellow line" in southern Lebanon, similar to the measure in the Gaza Strip, and conducted artillery strikes on fighters south of the line as a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on April 16, 2026. Command Sergeant Barak Kalfon, 48, died after being wounded on Friday in southern Lebanon during an operation related to the military's activity in the area, the Israeli military said.

It is the first time the Israeli military has referred to a "yellow line" in Lebanon. Over the previous 24 hours, forces operating south of the line identified fighters who violated the ceasefire understandings and approached from north of the line in a manner that posed an immediate threat, the military said.

Israeli artillery attacks on Saturday hit the southern Lebanese towns of Beit Leif, Qantara and Touline. The military said it conducted the attacks in response to fighters approaching areas where Israeli soldiers are stationed in southern Lebanon, claiming they posed an imminent threat. "Actions taken in self-defence and to remove immediate threats are not restricted by the ceasefire," the Israeli military said.

Kalfon's death brings the Israeli military's losses in the six-week war with Hezbollah to 14. Three other soldiers were injured in the same incident, which occurred during an operation about 3.5 kilometres from the border when a booby-trapped building exploded. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out attacks in southern Lebanon, and Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground report that Israeli bulldozers are continuing home demolitions.

The ceasefire that came into effect on April 16, 2026 follows a previous one that had been in effect since November 27, 2024. Since that date, the United Nations has counted more than 10,000 Israeli ceasefire violations and hundreds of Lebanese deaths. Israel has repeatedly told the Lebanese government that Hezbollah must be disarmed for any truce to last, while Hezbollah has said that Israel needs to withdraw from the southern region of Lebanon first as part of the 2024 ceasefire deal.

The Lebanese government said it was close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River before the year-end deadline as part of the 2024 deal, and at the start of the latest conflict it outlawed Hezbollah's military wing. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun previously refused to speak directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about their differences.