BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed four people on Sunday, Lebanese state media and the health ministry said, as Israel’s military said it had killed two Hezbollah militants.
“The Israeli enemy strike this evening on the town of Ainata led to the death of two people,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said, citing the health ministry’s emergency service.
Earlier, the health ministry confirmed one person was killed in an Israeli strike on Mais Al-Jabal and NNA reported one other fatality in Bint Jbeil.
The agency reported that an Israeli drone carried out “a strike on a vehicle in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, resulting in one fatality.”
The NNA said it was the third Israeli strike on southern Lebanon within 24 hours.
Earlier on Sunday, the health ministry said an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded another when it targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am, the NNA reported.
“The Israeli enemy’s air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the news agency.
Israel’s military said that it killed two Hezbollah militants Sunday in two separate strikes on Lebanon.
“Earlier today, the IDF struck and eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists who were surveillance operatives and took part in directing terror attacks in the area of Yatar and Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
It comes a day after Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj Al-Muluk.
Following that raid, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.”
And on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a senior Hezbollah militant.
That came as Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken to Israel during fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with a fifth detainee, a soldier, released on Thursday after he was taken earlier this month.
A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out periodic strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel had been due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill four in south
https://arab.news/6feym
Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill four in south
- “The Israeli enemy strike this evening on the town of Ainata led to the death of two people,” NNA said
- Earlier, health ministry confirmed one person was killed in an Israeli strike on Mais Al-Jabal and NNA reported one other fatality in Bint Jbeil
Spain highlights importance of Gaza reconstruction
- Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, on Friday discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During their telephone conversation they emphasized the need to intensify international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and halt attacks and settler violence, and to secure the release of Palestinian funds held by Israeli authorities.
They affirmed the importance of ongoing efforts relating to plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe’s significant role in this process. Mustafa and Albares highlighted the need to unify Palestinian institutions in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state in line with international resolutions, including last year’s New York Declaration.
They also discussed coordination between their countries, and the strengthening of Spain’s political, diplomatic and financial support for Palestine, and Mustafa thanked Spain for its ongoing support.
Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway. Estephan Salameh, the Palestinian finance and planning minister, is set to visit Spain this month to discuss enhanced cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners media office said on Friday that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron, according to The Associated Press.
Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.
On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.
Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.
Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.
