Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill three as EU urges ceasefire restraint

People assess the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Toura on November 6. Photo / Fadel Itani, NurPhoto via AFP

Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed three people and wounded several more on today, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, with Israel announcing one of the attacks had hit arms smugglers from a group affiliated with Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that two brothers from the town of Shebaa were hit while driving on a road on the slopes of Mt Hermon in the southeast, “causing their SUV to catch fire and resulting in their deaths”.

The Israeli military confirmed it had conducted a strike near Shebaa that killed two smugglers from the Lebanese Resistance Brigades, a group allied with Hezbollah.

“The terrorists were involved in smuggling weapons used by Hezbollah and their activities constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said, referring to the ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group.

“The IDF [military] will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the state of Israel,” it warned.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed the death toll in Shebaa and later reported that another strike on a car in the southern village of Baraashit had killed one person and wounded four.

The Israeli military later claimed the strike in Baraashit, saying it had killed a Hezbollah member who “was involved in attempts to rehabilitate Hezbollah military infrastructure”.

Another Israeli strike on a car near a hospital in the southern city of Bint Jbeil wounded seven people, according to the Health Ministry.

The latest attacks came as the European Union added its voice to international concern over Israel’s continued strikes despite the nearly year-old truce.

“Focus by all parties must be on preserving the ceasefire and the progress achieved so far,” the European Commission’s foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

Israel argues that Lebanon is acting too slowly to disarm Hezbollah and insists it has the right to carry out operations to protect its border and citizens from attack.

On Friday NZT it announced a series of strikes in southern Lebanon in advance and urged civilians to evacuate the targeted areas.

– Agence France-Presse