An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon on Sunday evening killed a school principal, as Israel continues to violate a ceasefire agreement that ended months of destructive fighting, according to Lebanese officials.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said in a statement that “the Israeli enemy’s airstrike on a car in the town of Mansouri in the Tyre district led to the martyrdom of a citizen”.
The National News Agency (NNA) identified the victim as Mohammad Shweikh, reporting that “a hostile drone strike on the town of Mansouri led to the martyrdom of the town’s school principal, Mohammad Shweikh”.
NNA earlier reported Israeli drone activity over villages in the western sector, particularly the Tyre district, as well as over Zahrani and nearby areas.
The agency said Israeli aircraft also dropped flares over the border town of Yaroun, while Israeli forces “threw a smoke bomb toward the Ain Square in the town of Adaisseh” in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has intensified strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks. Last week it claimed to have killed 15 Hezbollah members since early November, saying their “activities posed a threat to the State of Israel”, though it failed to provide any evidence.
On 6 November, it launched a series of heavy strikes on what it said were Hezbollah “infrastructure and weapons depots”.
Tensions escalated further on Sunday when the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said an Israeli tank fired at its peacekeepers in the south, where Israeli forces continue to hold positions despite the ceasefire.
“This morning, a Merkava tank belonging to the Israeli army fired at UNIFIL peacekeeping forces near a site established by Israel inside Lebanese territory,” the force said, urging the Israeli army “to cease any aggressive actions or attacks targeting peacekeeping forces or occurring near them”.
The Lebanese army condemned the incident, saying in a statement that it is “working in coordination with friendly countries to stop the continuous Israeli violations and breaches”, which it said require “immediate action” as they represent “a dangerous escalation”.
The army added that “the Israeli enemy insists on violating Lebanese sovereignty, causing instability and obstructing the full deployment of the army in the south”, calling the targeting of the UNIFIL patrol “the latest of these condemned aggressions”.
Lebanon, the statement said, “will work in coordination with the countries concerned to put an end to these ongoing violations”, stressing the need for “immediate action as they represent a dangerous escalation”.
The latest Israeli violence comes as Israeli media reported that Israel is close to launching a limited offensive in Lebanon.
Yedioth Ahronoth said the plan would rely on a new round of air strikes across Lebanon, targeting sites that Israel claims are linked to Hezbollah’s weapons production, including locations in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut.
