Two killed as Israel strikes Hezbollah munitions van in Kahhale

A Lebanese security official told AFP that an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah van carrying munitions near Beirut killed the driver Wednesday, the latest death in more than a month of war.

"A van belonging to Hezbollah was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Kahhale road and its driver killed," the official said, adding that the vehicle was carrying munitions.

The official requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

An AFP correspondent saw a vehicle on fire and said the Kahhale road, which links Beirut to Damascus, had been blocked in both directions.

Lebanon's official National News Agency had earlier reported an "enemy drone strike" on a vehicle, and media outlets later updated the death toll to two.

Later on Wednesday, the municipalities of the Christian towns of Araya and Kahhale condemned the transfer of weapons and ammunition through their towns.

Last week, the NNA said an Israeli strike targeting a car on the same highway killed two people.

In August 2023, two people were killed in clashes between Hezbollah members and residents of Kahhale, after a truck carrying munitions for the group overturned on the highway.

Another van carrying aid for the displaced was targeted in Bchamoun, roughly 10 kilometers southeast of Beirut. This is the first time in the conflict that the area is targeted.