Israel bombs four Syria-Lebanon border crossings; kills 2 in south Lebanon

Following earlier attacks on southern Lebanon that left at least two people dead and almost 20 others injured, Israel claimed it attacked four crossing points on the Syria-Lebanon border, claiming Hezbollah smuggled weapons.

Israel’s most recent violence on Wednesday comes in spite of a US-brokered ceasefire, which ended Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon in 2024 and that Israel has repeatedly violated.

In a risky escalation that directly targets civilians, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement late on Wednesday that Israel is “pursuing a policy of systematic aggression” by conducting air strikes on inhabited Lebanese villages.

President Aoun reaffirmed Israel’s refusal to comply with its obligations as a result of the cessation of hostilities agreement.

At least 19 people were hurt in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Lebanese town of Qanarit, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

After the Israeli army issued warnings that it would launch attacks on targets inside the nation, Israeli warplanes bombed buildings in several villages and towns in south Lebanon, including al-Kharayeb, al-Ansar, Qanarit, Kfour, and Jarjouh, according to the state-run National News Agency.

One person was killed earlier in the day when an Israeli vehicle was struck by an Israeli vehicle in the Sidon district of Zahrani, according to the Health Ministry. Additionally, according to the ministry, another person was killed in an Israeli attack on a vehicle in Tyre’s Bazuriyeh neighborhood.

A charred car on a main road in Sidon, according to the AFP news agency, was seen by a correspondent who reported seeing emergency personnel and debris strewn across the scene. Two other journalists who were employed close to the site of a heavy Israeli strike in Qanarit, where 19 people were hurt, also suffered minor injuries, along with a photographer from the agency.

The Israeli military claimed on social media that it had “eliminated” a “key Hezbollah weapons smuggler” in the southern Sidon region and that it had targeted four border crossings used for “weapons transfer.”

In a “blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty,” Israeli attacks were condemned in a statement released by the Lebanese army.

The Lebanese military added that these attacks “hod the army’s efforts” to finish the Hezbollah disarmament plan, which was a part of the ceasefire agreement.