Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on a car in Bent Jbeil killed one person, as Israeli forces said the target was a Hezbollah member. [Getty]
The Israeli army carried out several strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing one person, according to Lebanese authorities, with the military saying it targeted a Hezbollah fighter and infrastructure.
The strikes came days after the Lebanese military said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel has called those efforts insufficient.
The Lebanese ministry of health said an “Israeli enemy strike on a car in Bent Jbeil city in south Lebanon resulted in the martyrdom of one citizen”.
The Israeli army said the strike was on a member of Hezbollah, which it accused of breaching a truce agreed in late 2024 to end more than a year of hostilities with the group.
“A short while ago, in response to Hezbollah’s continuous violations of the ceasefire understandings, the (Israeli military) struck a Hezbollah terrorist” in the Bent Jbeil area, the army said in a statement.
Elsewhere, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that “enemy warplanes launched more than 10 raids” on the town of Kfar Hatta, which lies north of the Litani, noting “significant damage” to buildings there.
The Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning for Kafr Hatta, subsequently saying it was “striking Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas”.
It later announced an additional strike that targeted “an underground site used for weapons storage belonging to Hezbollah”.
Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 2024 ceasefire.
A ‘burden’ on Lebanon
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army announced other strikes on what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure in the south.
The NNA reported “a series of violent Israeli strikes” on Jezzine, Mahmudiyeh and Al-Dimasqiyeh, as well as “more than 10 strikes” on Al-Bureij, all in southern Lebanon.
Most of the targeted areas are located north of the Litani.
Under heavy US pressure and fearing expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, which was badly weakened by its war with Israel.
Lebanon’s army said Thursday that it had completed “the first phase” of its disarmament plan, covering the area south of the Litani — around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border — with the intention to extend it to the rest of the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in response that the ceasefire “states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed”.
Lebanon’s efforts, it added, “are an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient”.
In an interview with state television, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Sunday that Hezbollah’s weapons had “outlived their purpose” as a deterrent, saying they were now “a burden on its community and on Lebanon as a whole”.
