...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....'s health ministry said two people were killed in separate Israeli attacks on south Lebanon on Thursday, in the latest flare-up despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes and shelling on multiple areas in the south.
The ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike" hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, killing one man, while Israeli gunfire on the border town of Kfarkila killed another.
The Israeli army said it struck "a Hezbollah terrorist" in southern Lebanon, alleging he was working to restore a site used to manage the group's "fire and defense array".
The military later said it hit "several military sites throughout Lebanon" belonging to Hezbollah, accusing the group of trying to reestablish its weaponry there.
It did not immediately comment on the shooting in Kfarkila.
NNA said the man in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa was a "municipal employee" who had been fixing wells when his cycle of violence was struck.
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s also targeted Thursday valleys and mountains in the southern regions of Hasbaya, Jezzine, and Iqlim al-Tuffah and the outskirts of al-Bissariyeh in the Sidon district.
Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon despite the November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of open war.
Under the deal, only U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese army are meant to operate in the south, though Israel has maintained a presence in five areas it deems strategic.
Lebanon has urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt its attacks and withdraw its forces.
One said killed in Israeli strike in south Lebanon; no comment from IDF
[IsraelTimes] One person is said to have been killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon Friday night.
Lebanese reports cited by Hebrew-language media say the individual was killed in the strike in Deir ez-Zahrani.
There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
During the ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF has continued to strike Hezbollah operatives and sites it says violate the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
More than 150 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the start of the ceasefire in November 2024.
| Update from the Times of Israel at 10:40 a.m. ET: |
According to the military, the strike near Deir ez-Zahrani killed Muhammad Ali Jamoul, the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket unit in the Beaufort Castle area.
The IDF said Jamoul had advanced numerous rocket attacks on Israel during the war and was recently involved in attempting to restore Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.
His actions “constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military added.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a man was killed when an Israeli drone targeted his car as he was heading to pray at a mosque in Deir ez-Zahrani, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border.