Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill two in latest truce violation

Security source tells Al Jazeera Israeli drone fires missile directly at a car, causing vehicle to catch fire.

An Israeli drone strike has killed two people in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, a day after Israeli warplanes launched a series of deadly strikes on the country’s eastern mountain range and south.

It’s the latest in near-daily Israeli violations of the United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that began in November.

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The attack in the town of Toul in the Nabatieh district on Friday also injured two people, the ministry said. It did not provide details on their condition.

A security source told Al Jazeera that the drone fired a missile at a car, directly hitting the vehicle and causing it to catch fire.

The Israeli military said it attacked sites linked to Hezbollah, including “a military camp and a site for the production of precision missiles”, without providing evidence.

Later, the military claimed its forces killed Abbas Hassan Karky, whom it identifies as “the logistics commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front headquarters”. The attack was carried out in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, the Israeli army said in a statement.

There was no confirmation or comment from Hezbollah.

Separately, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the Israeli military carried out an air strike on the Kroum al-Marah neighbourhood in the southern district of Marjayoun with no injuries reported.

On Thursday, Israeli forces targeted the eastern region of Bekaa, killing two people, and later targeted Arabsalim in southern Lebanon, killing two others, including an elderly woman.

Israel has continued launching its assaults on Lebanese territory, particularly in the south, while maintaining a military presence at five border outposts despite the truce requiring its full withdrawal earlier this year.

The ceasefire brought to an end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has asked both the US and France to intervene to rein in Israel but to no avail. Last month, Aoun pushed to get more support from Washington after another deadly Israeli drone attack on southern Lebanon, which killed five people, including three children.

Israel’s prolonged violations have caused mounting civilian casualties and widespread destruction and hampered efforts by Lebanese authorities to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah in the south.

In August, the Lebanese government pledged to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, but Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the accelerated pressure, citing the ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation of Lebanese soil as a reason to hold onto its arms.