Lebanon said three people were killed Monday in a strike near Sidon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah operatives, days ahead of a deadline for Lebanon’s army to disarm the group near the border.
Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the fighter group, which it accuses of rearming.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Monday’s strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone around 10 kilometres from the southern coastal city of Sidon and “killed three people who were inside”.
The health ministry reported the same toll.
Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.
The Lebanese army plans to carry out the task south of the Litani River — about 30 kilometres from the border with Israel — by year’s end.
The latest strike came after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives on Friday took part in a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a second time, after holding their first direct talks in decades earlier this month, also under the committee’s auspices.
The committee comprises representatives from Lebanon, Israel, the US, France and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that the goal of the negotiations was to “stop the hostilities, achieve Israel’s withdrawal, return prisoners held in Israel and return southern residents to their villages”.
Israel has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.
“Lebanon awaits positive steps from the Israeli side,” Aoun told visiting Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto Monday, a presidency statement said.
