UPDATE – 2 killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire

UPDATES WITH LATEST DEATH TOLL, REVISES HEADLINE

By Stephanie Rady and Ikram Kouachi

BEIRUT / ANKARA (AA) – Two people were killed and two others injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center said one fatality occurred in a drone strike targeting a car in the town of Kfaryachit, while another person died in a strike on a house in the town of Houla.

According to the state news agency NNA, Israeli drones have been flying heavily over the area since early morning.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army said that it had thwarted an attempt to launch rockets from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel.

A military statement said that army forces raided an apartment in the Sidon-Zahrani region, where rockets and their launch platforms were seized. Several people were also arrested in the raid.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November, which ended months of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Lebanese authorities have reported more than 2,763 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 193 victims and injuries to 485 others.

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. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.