UPDATES CASUALTIES, REVISES HEADLINE
By Wassim Saifuldine, Mohammad Sio and Rania Abu Shamala
BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (AA) – One person was killed and another injured Wednesday when an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle in southern Lebanon, marking a fresh breach of the ceasefire in place since late 2024.
A Health Ministry statement said the drone strike directly hit the motorcycle in the town of Touline, causing the casualties.
In related incidents, another Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade near the town of Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district, while two more stun grenades were dropped over Khiam in southern Lebanon, the state news agency NNA said.
There was no comment from the Israeli military regarding the strikes.
Israel launched military operations in Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.
A ceasefire was reached in November, but Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target activities of the Hezbollah group.
Under the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.