BEIRUT: Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air strikes on Lebanon and hundreds of controlled explosions since the U.S. announced a ceasefire for the country on April 16, Lebanon's defence minister, Michel Menassa, said on Monday.
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect just after midnight on April 17, with Israeli troops still positioned deep inside southern Lebanon. While it has largely halted air strikes on Beirut and its suburbs, the truce has failed to halt fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
