Lebanon’s health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli strikes on the country’s south and east had killed three people, despite an ongoing ceasefire deal, as Israel claimed it had targeted two members of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Officials said one person had been killed in an “Israeli enemy strike” on a car in Naqoura, in Tyre province, while another strike on a vehicle in Nabi Sheet, in the country’s eastern Baalbek region, resulted in another fatality.
Later, the health ministry said a further strike on the town of al-Hafir, also in the Baalbek area, resulted in the death of a Syrian national and an injury to another Syrian.
Despite a nearly year-long ceasefire, Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon, often saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions.
In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli army said it had killed Ali Hussein al-Mousawi in eastern Lebanon, describing him as “a weapons dealer and smuggler on behalf of Hezbollah”.
The Israeli military said it had also killed a local Hezbollah representative it identified as Abd Mahmoud al-Sayed, in southern Lebanon.
Israel has intensified strikes in recent weeks, with several deadly attacks launched over the past few days.
The United Nations said on Sunday an Israeli drone had dropped a grenade close to its peacekeepers in Kfar Kila in south Lebanon and that an Israeli tank fired towards the patrolling force.
“These actions by Israel Defense Forces are in violation of… Lebanon’s sovereignty, and show disregard for safety and security of the peacekeepers,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said.
Last week, a UN special rapporteur told AFP that deadly Israeli strikes on ostensibly civilian vehicles in Lebanon could amount to war crimes, despite Israel’s assertion they targeted Hezbollah members.
As part of last year’s ceasefire deal, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any military infrastructure in the south.
According to the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL are to be deployed in the south of the country.
Under US pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan the movement and its allies oppose.
Despite the terms of the truce, Israel has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.
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© Agence France-Presse
