BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported three people killed in an air strike near Sidon that Israel said had targeted Hezbollah operatives on Monday, days ahead of a deadline for Lebanon’s army to disarm the group near the border.
Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group, which it accuses of rearming.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Monday’s strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone around 10 kilometers from the southern coastal city of Sidon and “killed three people who were inside.”
An Israeli military statement said the army “struck several Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Sidon.”
Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.
The Lebanese army plans to carry out the task south of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel — by year’s end.
The latest strike came after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives on Friday 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, also under the committee’s auspices.
In a meeting Monday with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the goal of the negotiations was to “stop the hostilities, achieve Israel’s withdrawal, return prisoners held in Israel, and return southern residents to their villages.”
“Lebanon awaits positive steps from the Israeli side,” Aoun added, according to a statement from his 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.
On Sunday, Israeli strikes in south Lebanon near the border killed one person and wounded another, as Israel also said it targeted Hezbollah members.
Israel’s military has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.