By Stephanie Rady, Abdelraouf Arnaout and Rania Abu Shamala
BEIRUT, / JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) – One person was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Thursday, marking a new violation of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides, the Health Ministry said.
The ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said a man was killed in the strike that targeted the Ali al-Taher forest in Nabatieh al-Fawqa area.
The state news agency NNA said that the victim was a municipal employee, who was killed while supplying water to homes in the area.
The Israeli army confirmed the attack, claiming that it targeted a Hezbollah operative, who was allegedly trying to rebuild a site used for Hezbollah fire control and defense.
There was no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.
Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target the Hezbollah group’s activities, despite a ceasefire that was reached in November. The truce ended months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.
Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of over 200 people and injuries to at least 500 since last November.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.