Israeli drone strikes killed two people and injured three others in south Lebanon on Thursday, the latest in a series of violations by Israel of a truce agreed in November.
The first strike was on a vehicle on the road between the towns of Mais Al Jabal and Blida, which killed one person and injured two Syrian workers, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. The second strike hit a motorcycle in Mais Al Jabal, killing one person and injuring another, the ministry said.
The Israeli army said it struck a member of Hezbollah's elite 'Radwan Force' in addition to another member of the Lebanese group "who was operating in the area of the border and gathered intelligence".
At least 180 people have been killed in more than 2,740 ceasefire violations committed by Israel since the truce took effect in late November, according to Lebanese government figures. The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, has recorded more than 2,200 Israeli airspace incursions, more than 40 air strikes, and close to 1,300 Israeli ground activities in the border area south of the Litani River. Violations from the Lebanese side are rare; Unifil has reported 19 projectiles launched from Lebanon into Israel by Hezbollah and affiliated armed groups.
Israel has continued to strike southern Lebanon and other areas of the country on an almost daily basis despite the truce that ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in a bid to increase pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.
More than 90 per cent of Hezbollah’s infrastructure near the border with Israel has been dismantled since the ceasefire took effect, according to Lebanese officials. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Armed Forces have taken control of 85 per cent the country’s south, President Joseph Aoun told Sky News Arabia on Thursday.
The ceasefire deal is based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, which stipulates a complete withdrawal from south Lebanon by Hezbollah and Israel, with no armed forces other than the Lebanese military and UN peacekeeping troops south of the Litani River. In addition to its attacks, Israel continues to occupy five points inside Lebanese territory.
