Israeli strikes kill three in south Lebanon
Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes killed three people on Wednesday as Israel said it targeted Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, the latest attacks despite a ceasefire with the Iran-backed militant group.
An "Israeli enemy drone" struck a car in Ain Baal in the Tyre region, killing one person, Lebanon's health ministry said.
Additional Israeli drone strikes killed one person in Yater and another in Aitaroun, both near the border, the ministry said later.
Israel has kept up raids on its neighbor despite a November truce aiming to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war.
The Israeli army said its forces struck a Hezbollah operative in the Tyre region, saying he was "responsible for establishing the necessary infrastructure for the production of precise surface-to-surface missiles in the area".
It also said it "eliminated a commander" in Hezbollah's elite Radwan force in the Yater area, and struck a "Hezbollah terrorist" in Aitaroun.
An official in Yater said the strike there killed a man who was using a bulldozer to remove debris from his home damaged during the conflict, the state-run National News Agency reported, adding that the Aitaroun raid targeted a motorcycle.
It was the third consecutive day of Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters were to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle military infrastructure south of the river.
Israel was to withdraw all forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems "strategic".
The Lebanese army has deployed in the south as Israeli forces withdraw and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.
The truce was based on a U.N. Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers should be the only people to bear arms in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
Lebanon has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw its remaining troops.
On Tuesday, U.S. deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said Lebanon still had "more" to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war.
Source: Agence France Presse
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