Israeli strike kills 1, wounds 1 soldier in Lebanon despite cease-fire
Smoke billows above the Khiam during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, Dec. 2, 2024. (AFP Photo)


An Israeli airstrike killed one person in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to the country's Health Ministry, while the army said a drone attack injured a soldier in the east despite a cease-fire in place.

Lebanon's official National News Agency has repeatedly reported Israeli fire, including strikes since the cease-fire went into effect Wednesday between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has not announced any response.

"An Israeli enemy strike on Jdeidet Marjayoun killed one person," a ministry statement said, while the NNA reported one person was killed in "a strike launched by an enemy drone ... on a motorcycle" in the south Lebanon town.

Earlier, the Lebanese army in a statement said that "an enemy drone struck an army bulldozer at a position, injuring one soldier" in the country's eastern Hermel region.

Last week's fragile cease-fire ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.

As part of the agreement, the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.

Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

While the cease-fire has largely brought fighting to a halt, Israel has launched strikes against targets it says were violating the truce.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Israeli army committed 11 violations on Sunday by targeting southern Lebanese towns, bringing the total violations since the Nov. 27 cease-fire to 73.

The violations include the destruction of homes, artillery shelling, warplane overflights over Lebanese territory, gunfire, incursions, and the bulldozing of roads and agricultural lands.

Israel's military said Sunday it had fired on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the previous 24 hours, claiming it acted to "remove threats" that violated "the cease-fire agreement conditions."

The NNA reported Sunday that "the continued violation of the cease-fire" in south Lebanon by Israeli forces.

Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian resistance group's Oct. 7, 2023 incursion of southern Israel.

More than 3,960 people were killed and more than 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.