Kathmandu — Israel has carried out a massive airstrike in southern Lebanon as preparations for peace talks between Iran and the United States are underway to end the war. One person was killed and infrastructure was severely damaged in the attack.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), one civilian was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Markeh municipality in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. The attack, which continued until Saturday morning, destroyed several residential homes and government buildings in Bint Jebel in southern Lebanon.

Earlier on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had said that an agreement had been reached on a draft agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran and that mediators were preparing to finalize it.

According to Iranian media, a new agreement would end the ongoing war on all fronts, including Lebanon. However, the Israeli leadership has made it clear that it has no plans to immediately withdraw from the territory it has occupied in Lebanon.

The latest attack is seen as a violation of a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanese authorities earlier this month. The two countries agreed to a ceasefire on June 4 under US mediation. Israel has continued its attacks despite a second round of comprehensive talks scheduled for June 22.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army issued an order on Saturday warning residents of 20 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately leave their homes and move "north of the Zahrani River." This has raised the risk of further large-scale displacement in the area.