Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon since the Nov 27 ceasefire that largely halted more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group including two months of all-out war.
The Lebanese health ministry said in a statement that an “Israeli enemy” strike today on the town of Taybeh, near the border, “led to the death of one citizen”.
The Israeli military said its forces “eliminated… Hezbollah’s artillery commander in the Taybeh area”, alleging that during the war, he had “directed and carried out numerous projectile attacks towards the Upper Galilee area” in northern Israel.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said the strike hit “in front of a motorcycle repair shop” in the town, in south Lebanon’s Marjayoun district.
On Sunday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike killed two people in south Lebanon’s Zibqin, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah operatives in the area.
The NNA also reported Israeli strikes on prefabricated homes in south Lebanon’s Naqura area yesterday.
Such structures have usually been set up for returning residents whose homes were destroyed in the conflict.
Israeli strikes last week also targeted other south Lebanon locations and even Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion.
The truce accord was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
On the weekend, visiting US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed the situation in south Lebanon and economic reforms with senior Lebanese officials, with talks also addressing Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Hezbollah was left severely weakened in the latest war.
In an interview with Lebanese television channel LBCI broadcast yesterday, Ortagus said Washington continued to press Lebanon’s government “to fully fulfil the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias”, adding it should happen “as soon as possible”.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun today said the issue needed to be resolved “through communication and dialogue because in the end, Hezbollah is a Lebanese component”.
Authorities would soon begin work on drafting a “national security strategy”, he added.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw fighters from south of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure there.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon but continues to hold five positions that it deems “strategic”.
Aoun urged Washington to pressure Israel to withdraw from the five border points, saying the ongoing troop presence “complicates the situation”.