BEIRUT: Israeli strikes in south Lebanon on Sunday killed one person and wounded another, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel’s military said it targeted Hezbollah members.
Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure or operatives, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group that erupted over the Gaza war.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.
The health ministry in Beirut said “two Israeli enemy strikes today, on a vehicle and a motorbike in the town of Yater” killed one person and wounded another.
Yater is around five kilometers (three miles) from the border with Israel.
In separate statements, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Yater,” adding shortly afterwards that it “struck an additional Hezbollah terrorist” in the same area.
Also on Sunday, Lebanon’s army said in a statement that troops had discovered and dismantled “an Israeli spy device” in Yarun, elsewhere in south Lebanon near the border.
Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah and plans to do so south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel, by year end.
Israel has questioned the Lebanese military’s effectiveness and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, while the group itself has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
During a visit to Israel on Sunday, US Senator Lindsey Graham also accused Hezbollah of rearming.
“My impression is that Hezbollah is trying to make more weapons... That’s not an acceptable outcome,” Graham said in a video statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
More than 340 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.
This week at talks in Paris, Lebanon’s army chief agreed to document the military’s progress in disarming Hezbollah, the French foreign ministry said.
On Friday, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives took part in a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a second time, after holding their first direct talks in decades earlier this month under the committee’s auspices.
Israel said Friday’s meeting was part of broader efforts to ensure Hezbollah’s disarmament and strengthen security in border areas.