The Israeli military carried out fresh airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Monday, killing a Hezbollah commander and another man in separate attacks, Lebanese security sources told dpa.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that one person was killed and seven civilians were wounded in an Israeli drone strike on the eastern Doueir road in the Nabatieh district.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the attack occurred around midday when three guided missiles hit a car at the Sharqiyah–Doueir intersection, killing Mohammad Ali Hadid, identified by security sources as a commander in the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
The explosion set nearby vehicles ablaze and caused extensive damage to a commercial complex housing restaurants, shops and apartments.
Shortly afterwards, another drone strike targeted a motorcycle in the border town of Aita al-Shaab, killing one man, according to Lebanese security sources.
The Israeli army said it was checking the reports.
Security sources reported increased Israeli military activity along the border in the past 24 hours, including the deployment of tanks and armoured vehicles closer to Lebanese territory.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been in effect since late November last year, but Israel continues to launch strikes, accusing the Shiite group of rebuilding its military capabilities.
In August, Lebanon’s government accepted a US-brokered plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025, though the militia has rejected the timeline.
Tensions remain high, with Washington and Tel Aviv warning of further escalation if Hezbollah does not disarm.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that Lebanon has no choice but to negotiate with Israel, stressing that dialogue is the only realistic way to resolve conflicts and protect the country’s interests.
“Lebanon has no option but negotiation. In politics, there are three tools: diplomacy, economics, and war. When war leads us nowhere, what do we do? The end of every war in the world has been negotiation,” Aoun told a group of his visitors.
He emphasized that the “language of negotiation is more important than the language of war,” noting that Lebanon has suffered enough from repeated cycles of conflict.
