Just one day after Israeli troops withdrew from the majority of the border region, an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in southern Lebanon has claimed the lives of at least one person.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “an enemy drone struck a vehicle… in the town of Aita al-Shaab” on Wednesday.
Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, identified the victim as Yusuf Mohammed Sorour, the son of the mayor of the town, targeted while he was sitting in his car in front of his home.
After Israeli forces opened fire on “while residents were inspecting” restaurants and cafes in the Wazzani region, according to NNA, one person was injured in a separate attack.
Israeli forces reportedly fired at Shebaa homes, according to the NNA.
A ceasefire deal agreed in November 2024 had halted more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war in which Israel’s relentless bombing killed more than 4, 000 people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
As a result of the agreement, Lebanon’s military would work alongside UN peacekeepers during the Israeli army’s 60-day withdrawal, which was later extended to February 18.
Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Just before the deadline, Israel made a statement that it would temporarily maintain its troops in “five strategic locations” close to the border.
Lebanon rejects the army’s claim that they were hilltops overlooking the border where troops would remain to “make sure there’s no immediate threat.”
Lebanon declared on Tuesday that it was in talks with American and French mediators to pressure Israel into fully recoil, calling its continued presence in five locations an “occupation” and an “occupation” with the United States and France.
The UN referred to the lack of a Security Council resolution as a violation of the pullout.
In November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had stated that Israel would maintain “full military freedom of action” in the event of a truce breakdown.
The flimsy ceasefire agreement is more ambiguous because Israel’s refusal to withdraw all of its forces.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply