Beirut: Three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a group of people near the Shebaa Farms in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese military source said.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua on Sunday that an Israeli drone fired an air-to-ground missile at the Bastra area south of the town of Shebaa, resulting in the fatalities.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Saturday that its air force had identified and attacked three “suspects” near the Israeli-annexed Shebaa Farms area, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lebanon’s General Directorate of Civil Defence announced on Sunday it had retrieved two bodies in the Lebanese town of Khiam, the bodies and remains of eight people in the town of Naqoura, two bodies in the village of Biyyadah, and one body in the village of Tayr Harfa.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Sunday night, targeting areas surrounding Baalbek city in eastern Lebanon for the first time since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect on November 27, 2024.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the raids hit the town of Jenta in the Baalbek-Hermel district, but did not provide information on whether there were any casualties.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes conducted six intense airstrikes targeting several areas, according to NNA.
The ceasefire, brokered by the US and France, was meant to end nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The terms of the agreement include Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory within 60 days, with the Lebanese army taking over security along the Lebanese-Israeli border. The agreement also bans any presence of weapons or militants in the region.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon, though at a reduced intensity, with some of them resulting in deaths and injuries.
Israel also accuses Hezbollah of ceasefire violations.
(IANS)
