Israel strikes Lebanon killing Hezbollah member
Beirut – The Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one person on Friday, as Israel said it killed a member of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes on Lebanon despite a November ceasefire with Hezbollah and an unprecedented bombing campaign it launched on Iran last week.
In a statement carried by Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, the ministry said that an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle killed one person near the southern village of Abbassiyeh.
The Israeli army named its target as Mohammed Khadr al-Husseini and said he was 'commander of the Hezbollah firepower array in the Litani sector'.
The military alleged that Husseini 'advanced numerous attacks toward Nahariya, Haifa and additional cities' during the war and supported efforts in rebuilding Hezbollah's arsenal since then.
Israel has repeatedly bombed its northern neighbour despite a November ceasefire ending more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.
Israel said it would continue its strikes on Lebanon until Hezbollah was fully disarmed.
As Israel's war with Iran entered its eighth day, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah to keep out of the conflict, saying: 'If there is terrorism, there will be no Hezbollah'.
Speaking in Beirut on Thursday, US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack said any intervention by Hezbollah would be 'a very, very, very bad decision'.
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