Israel launches wave of strikes across south Lebanon

A Lebanese local official says an Israeli drone targeted employee working at water well in violation of ceasefire deal.

The Israeli military has launched several air raids across south Lebanon, killing at least one person, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports, as it intensifies its attacks in the country, in the latest violations of a ceasefire agreement.

The strikes on Thursday targeted areas near the towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Beit Lif, Ramia, al-Bisariya, Wadi al-Safa and al-Sarira. Low-flying Israeli jets and drones were also reported in several regions of southern Lebanon.

An Israeli drone strike killed a municipal worker operating a water well in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, according to the town’s mayor, Zein Ali Ghandour.

Ghandour said on Thursday that the victim, Mahmoud Hasan Atwi, was “martyred” while on his official duty of trying to provide water for the people of the town.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this blatant aggression against civilians and civilian infrastructure as well as the Lebanese state and its institutions,” the mayor said in a statement.

Ghandour called on the international community to press the issue and put an end to Israeli violations.

The Israeli military had claimed that it fired at a “Hezbollah operative” who it said was “rehabilitating a site” used by the group.

Last week, the Israeli military launched a wave of air strikes across south Lebanon that it said targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.

Israel has also been regularly firing at fields and civilian homes on the Lebanese side of the border.

In an earlier attack on Thursday, an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the southern village of Beit Lif, injuring at least one person, the National News Agency reported.

Israel claims that its attacks are in enforcement of the ceasefire, which requires Hezbollah to pull its forces to the north of the Litani River, about 30km (18 miles), from the border, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

But the Israeli military has been carrying out strikes in the entire country, not just south of the river. Israel has bombed the Lebanese capital Beirut several times this year.

Early in April, an Israeli strike assassinated a Hezbollah official and killed three others in the Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh.

Israeli troops also continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon in breach of the truce.

Hezbollah emerged weakened from the war after losing its top political and military officials, including its longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, in Israeli attacks.

Since the end of the war, Hezbollah has not responded to Israeli violations, saying that it is giving the Lebanese state the opportunity to stop the attacks through diplomatic channels. The group has warned, however, that its patience may run out.

But it is unclear if Hezbollah is capable of confronting Israel militarily, as it had for decades – including hastening an end to Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon in 2000 and fighting a 2006 war to a stalemate, after the heavy blows it suffered during the war.

Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, have repeatedly called on France and the United States – the main sponsors of the ceasefire deal – to pressure Israel to end its abuses.

Pressured by the US on disarming Hezbollah, Aoun has said the issue is a “delicate” one.