Israeli strikes kill three in Lebanon before army targets UN patrol

Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon have killed three people, despite a ceasefire that began almost a year ago, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

Lebanese authorities initially said that two people had been killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, but revised the death toll after a further strike.

Two of the victims died in the country’s eastern Baalbek region, while the third was killed in Naqoura in the southern province of Tyre.

The Health Ministry said a Syrian national was among the victims after being struck in the town of al-Hafir in Baalbek.

The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah members.

In a statement, it said it killed Ali Hussein al-Mousawi in eastern Lebanon.

Al-Mousawi “purchased and transferred weapons from Syria to Lebanon” and “played a significant role in the re-establishment and strengthening of Hezbollah”, the Israeli army claimed.

It added that Abed Mahmoud al-Sayed, a local Hezbollah representative in the village of Ras Biyyada, was killed in the Naquoura strike.

There was no confirmation from Hezbollah about the alleged deaths.

‘We do not seek anyone’s approval’

The latest deaths come 11 months after a ceasefire brought an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

However, speaking on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that his country would not seek approval for in Lebanon or Gaza, despite agreeing to ceasefires in both.

“Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves by our own means and we will continue to determine our fate,” Netanyahu told government ministers.

“We do not seek anyone’s approval for this. We control our security,” he added.

His comments came hours before the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has operated in southern Lebanon since 1978, said that an Israeli drone had dropped a grenade close to one of its patrols near Kfar Kila on Sunday afternoon.

An Israeli tank then fired a shot, UNIFIL added, but there was no injury to its personnel or damage to its assets.

Israel’s attacks were “in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanon’s sovereignty, and show disregard for safety and security of the peacekeepers implementing Security Council-mandated tasks in southern Lebanon”, UNIFIL said in a statement on X.

Last week, a group of UN experts voiced alarm about Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon.

“These attacks have resulted in a mounting toll of civilian deaths and injuries and destruction and damage of infrastructure, housing, the environment and agricultural zones vital to civilian livelihoods,” they said.

Under the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon by January 2025. However, its troops still remain at five border outposts that Israel deems strategic.