Israel conducts deadly strikes on southern Lebanon despite fragile ceasefire
Lebanon said one person was killed and six wounded on Saturday in a series of Israeli strikes in the south despite a ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
An "Israeli enemy drone strike on a vehicle" in the town of Bint Jbeil "killed one person and wounded two", Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency (NNA).
The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces "struck and eliminated" an operative from Hezbollah's elite Radwan force in the area.
The health ministry also reported one person wounded in a drone strike on another car in the same town, and two others seriously wounded in a similar raid on a vehicle in nearby Shaqra.
Also on Saturday, the ministry reported that a separate Israeli drone strike wounded one person in Shebaa, elsewhere in the south, with NNA reporting that a house was targeted.
Israel has kept up its bombardment of Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of all-out war that left the Iran-backed group severely weakened.
Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country, but has kept them in five places it deems strategic.
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Israel strikes south Beirut for third time since ceasefire beganUS, France are 'guarantors of ceasefire deal', Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Lebanon releases Israeli citizen held in detention for a year
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli citizen detained in Lebanon has been returned to Israel after more than a year in detention, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday. There was little information given about the man, identified as Salah Abu-Hussein, an Arab citizen of Israel. His imprisonment had not garnered public attention in Israel or Lebanon. Israeli media reported that the man's family had reported him missing around a year ago and was unaware he was in Lebanon. Four Lebanese security and judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the man had entered the country illegally by crossing the land border between the two countries and was then caught by Lebanese security officials. At the time of his crossing, Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were engaged in ongoing low-level clashes in the border region, which escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024. It was halted by a U.S.-brokered ceasefire two months later. Abu-Hussein's release was negotiated in secret over the past few months in cooperation with the Red Cross, according to Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu's coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, who is also Israel's point of contact for the hostages in Gaza. On Thursday, Lebanese Authorities handed Abu-Hussein to Hirsch at the Rosh Hanikra crossing between Lebanon and Israel, which is not open to the public. Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Israeli citizens are prohibited from entering Lebanon under Lebanese law, with rare exceptions for Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship. Netanyahu hailed the return of Abu-Hussein. 'This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,' he said after Abu-Hussein returned. There was no official comment from the Lebanese government on his release. A group advocating for Lebanese citizens held in Israeli prisons denounced the move. The Representative Committee of Lebanese Prisoners and Freed Prisoners said in a statement that 19 Lebanese citizens are imprisoned in Israel and called the release of the Israeli citizen by Lebanon 'blatant betrayal.' ————— Sewell reported from Beirut.
an hour ago
Pope Leo's first international trip could be to Lebanon, cardinal says
ROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is planning to visit Lebanon this year on his first foreign visit, the country's Catholic cardinal said, a trip that would give history's first American pope a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there. A visit to Lebanon could be the second leg of a planned visit to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate an important anniversary with the Orthodox Church. Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, the patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite faithful, told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that Leo 'will visit Lebanon.' 'It's unclear to be honest when he will visit, but he will visit anytime from now until December,' the cardinal said when asked about a possible visit. 'There needs to be an agreement from the Vatican on when the visit will happen. But there are preparations for the visit, but it's unclear until the Vatican's announcement.' Leo, like his predecessor Pope Francis, has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, especially as Israel's offensive rages on in Gaza. The last pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012 on what was the last foreign trip of his papacy. A Vatican spokesperson on Thursday declined to confirm or deny a trip by Leo. But word of papal trips usually originates with the local church that will host the pope. Pope Francis, who died on April 21, had long hoped to visit Lebanon, but the country's political and economic instability prevented a visit during his lifetime. The Mediterranean nation of around 6 million, including more than 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. However, the Vatican fears the country's instability has been particularly dangerous for the continued presence of its Christian community, a bulwark for the church in the Mideast. Lebanon is currently struggling to recover after years of economic crisis and a bruising war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that ended with a U.S. and France-brokered ceasefire in November. Formation of a new, reformist government in November ended a two-year political vacuum and brought hopes of recovery but the situation remains tense. Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points on the Lebanese side of the border and carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Hezbollah is under increasing domestic and international pressure to give up its remaining arsenal but has refused to do so until Israel withdraws and halts its strikes. There are fears of civil conflict if Lebanese authorities attempt to forcibly disarm the group. About one-third of Lebanon's population is believed to be Christian, though there is no official number since there hasn't been an official census since 1932. The Maronites are the largest and most powerful sect and, by convention, Lebanon's president is always a Maronite Christian. Leo is already expected to travel to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity's first ecumenical council. It was a trip Francis had intended to make in May. The Vatican has not confirmed the Turkey trip, but Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians and the host of the anniversary commemoration, has said Leo told him he wants to go. Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Lebanon. ___
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Israel pounds neighborhoods as operation to take Gaza City underway
JERUSALEM — Israeli strikes pummeled Gaza City and its surroundings Thursday after officials announced the launch of a widely anticipated operation to seize and occupy the enclave's largest metropolis, despite objections from the international community and many Israelis, who turned out this week in record numbers to protest the assault.
