One killed as Israeli strikes hit south Lebanon despite ceasefire
Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed one person and wounded another in Yater, the health ministry said, as Israel claimed it targeted Hezbollah members. The incident comes despite a November 2024 ceasefire and amid continued disputes over Hezbollah’s disarmament.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A fragile calm in south Lebanon was again disrupted on Sunday when Israeli strikes hit the town of Yater, killing one person and wounding another, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, in an incident that underscored the persistence of violence despite a ceasefire reached late last year.
The Lebanese health ministry in Beirut said that “two Israeli enemy strikes today, on a vehicle and a motorbike in the town of Yater” resulted in one death and one injury. Yater lies around five kilometers from the border with Israel, an area that has repeatedly witnessed military activity.
In parallel statements, Israel’s military confirmed the strikes, saying it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Yater,” before adding shortly afterwards that it “struck an additional Hezbollah terrorist” in the same location. Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes in Lebanon, usually stating that it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure or operatives.
These developments come despite a ceasefire agreed in November 2024, which sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group that erupted in the context of the Gaza war. Israel has nonetheless maintained troops in five areas of south Lebanon that it considers strategic.
Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s army said its forces had discovered and dismantled “an Israeli spy device” in Yarun, another town in south Lebanon close to the border, highlighting the ongoing security tensions in the area.
Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of an expansion of Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah and plans to do so south of the Litani River, roughly 30 kilometers from the Israeli border, by the end of the year. Israel has questioned the effectiveness of the Lebanese military in this regard and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, allegations the group has rejected while refusing calls to surrender its weapons.
During a visit to Israel on Sunday, US Senator Lindsey Graham echoed these concerns. “My impression is that Hezbollah is trying to make more weapons... That’s not an acceptable outcome,” he said in a video statement released by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to an AFP tally based on Lebanese health ministry reports, more than 340 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.
Diplomatic efforts to reinforce the truce have continued alongside the violence. At talks in Paris this week, Lebanon’s army chief agreed to document the military’s progress in disarming Hezbollah, the French foreign ministry said. On Friday, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives also took part in a second meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee, following their first direct talks in decades earlier this month under the committee’s auspices.
Israel said the latest meeting formed part of broader efforts to ensure Hezbollah’s disarmament and to strengthen security in border areas, as exchanges of fire and mutual accusations continue to test the durability of the ceasefire.