In brief
In a reported escalation of military actions, Israel conducted airstrikes on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah infrastructure. The strikes have killed five people, including four Hezbollah members. This incident occurs against a backdrop of global pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, which has refrained from firing at Israel since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November. The Lebanese government is reportedly in favor of disarmament but opposes direct confrontation with Hezbollah.
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes Monday on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members, according to officials. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm the Lebanese militant group. Since Hezbollah and Israel’s monthslong war ended in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily in what they say are attacks to target the Lebanese militant group. The strikes in northeastern Lebanon, near Syria, far from the country’s border with Israel, are rare. Monday’s strikes hit the fringes of the provinces of Hermel and Bekaa, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, wounding five people. A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, confirmed four of the five killed were group members. Israeli Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said their air forces targeted Hezbollah positions and infrastructure, including a training area for the group’s elite Radwan Forces. The Lebanese government recently backed a plan drafted by the military to gradually disarm the group but said it opposes any direct confrontation with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has not fired at Israel since November. It maintains it no longer has an armed presence south of the Litani River but refuses to discuss disarmament until Israel stops its attacks and withdraws from five hilltop points that it captured during the war, which killed some 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused billions of dollars in damage in the Mediterranean country.
