Israel claims striking Hezbollah arms smuggling on Lebanon-Syria border

Israel struck the Lebanon-Syria border on Saturday to allegedly stop Hezbollah from smuggling weapons, the Israeli military and a war monitor said, a day before a mass funeral for the Lebanese group's slain leader.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israel nearly five months ago in a huge strike on south Beirut, at the start of an all-out war that ended with a ceasefire agreement in late November.

A military statement on Saturday said Israeli forces "conducted a strike on border crossings on the Syria-Lebanon border through which the Hezbollah terrorist organization has attempted to smuggle weapons into Lebanon."

"These smuggling attempts are a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," the statement said, referring to the November truce that ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of war.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported Israeli air strikes on smuggling routes at the Lebanon-Syria border including "illegal crossings."

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire deal went into effect.

Saturday's army statement said Israeli forces "will operate to prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild its forces."

Under the ceasefire deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in south Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.

Israel has since pulled out its troops from all but five border locations.

Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Both sides have accused the other of violating the deal.

Syria shares a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border with Lebanon, with no official demarcation.

Hezbollah lost a supply route when Islamist-led rebels in December ousted ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes since war broke out in 2011.

On Friday, Israel said it struck crossings on the Lebanon-Syria border used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons, with the Observatory reporting an unspecified number of people wounded in the attack.