Lebanon Says One Dead As Israel Resumes Strikes On South

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed Sunday in an Israeli drone strike, a day after the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah.

“The Israeli enemy raid with a drone on a car in Aita al-Shaab led to the death of one citizen,” the health ministry said, after the official National News Agency (NNA) had reported the strike on the southern village.

The Israeli military later said in a statement it had “attacked and eliminated” a Hezbollah member “in the area of Aita al-Shaab”.

NNA also reported separate Israeli strikes on Sunday on Naqurah, Shihin and Labbouneh in the south near the Israeli border.

Saturday saw the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire halted the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The Lebanese health ministry said seven people were killed Saturday, including in an attack on Tyre that a security source told AFP targeted a Hezbollah official.

Israel has said the strikes were “a response to rocket fire towards Israel”.

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the rocket fire, and called Israel’s accusations “pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon”.

On Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the Israeli strikes as “extensive military aggression” and slammed the country as “a real threat to international peace and security”.

The November ceasefire brought relative calm after a year of hostilities, including two months of open war, between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon since the ceasefire, targeting what it said were Hezbollah military sites that violated the agreement.

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah is supposed to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel is supposed to withdraw its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, but has missed two deadlines to do so and continues to hold five positions it deems “strategic”.

AFP