File photo : A UN peacekeeper (UNIFIL) patrols the border with Israel, in the village of Khiam, Lebanon September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
Israel said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah militant responsible for drones and missiles, even as it freed Lebanese prisoners as a “goodwill” gesture to the country’s new president.
Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to carry out air strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are necessary to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from rearming or re-establishing a presence along its northern border.
“Earlier today, the IAF (air force) conducted a precise intelligence-based strike in the area of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, eliminating Hassan Abbas Ezzedine, the head of Hezbollah’s aerial array in the Bader regional unit,” the military said in a statement.
It said it carried out a second strike on Tuesday in the Froun area, targeting several militants.
“Several terrorists were identified in a site used by Hezbollah in the area of Froun in southern Lebanon,” the military said. “An IAF aircraft struck the suspects.”
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that two people were killed in the Israeli strikes.
“An enemy Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the Deir El-Zahrani road resulted in one fatality,” the news agency said, citing the health ministry.
It later reported that a second person was killed in an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the Froun area.
Although a truce reached on November 27 largely ended more than a year of hostilities — including two months of full-scale war in which Israeli ground troops crossed the border — Israel has continued to launch periodic strikes in Lebanese territory.
Israel was initially expected to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18, after missing a January deadline, but it has maintained a presence in five strategic locations.
AFP/ FRANCE 24