Ceasefire Violated: Israel Targets Hezbollah Officials and Arms Smuggler in Cross-Border Airstrikes
Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Kill Four, Deepening Crisis Despite Ceasefire
BEIRUT: At least four people were killed and two others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday, marking one of the deadliest escalations since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), Israeli drones and warplanes struck multiple targets, including vehicles, in the towns of Zawtar, Qlaileh, Naqoura, and Nabi Sheet. Security sources reported that three of the fatalities were members of Hezbollah, while the fourth was a Syrian national.
The Israeli military confirmed conducting two rounds of strikes, stating they had eliminated a Hezbollah official and a suspected weapons trafficker operating for the group. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee later stated that forces had killed a member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in Qlaileh, describing the operation as an effort to dismantle the group’s military infrastructure in the south.
Israeli media named four of the reported casualties targeted in recent precision strikes, claiming them to be senior Hezbollah commanders: Zain al-Abidin Hussein Fatouni: A commander in the Radwan Force’s anti-tank unit. Mohammad Akram Arabia: A senior Radwan officer.Abd Mahmoud al-Sayyed: A local representative of Hezbollah. Ali Hussein al-Moussawi: Described by Israel as a weapons smuggler operating between Syria and Lebanon.
The Sunday strikes contributed to a growing toll, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least ten people killed in Israeli attacks over the past week alone. The ceasefire, signed on November 27, 2024, has failed to halt the violence, as Israel continues near-daily strikes on Lebanese territory, citing the need to neutralize Hezbollah threats along the border.
The continuation of hostilities drew immediate diplomatic engagement. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday toured the Israel–Lebanon border alongside US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, underscoring ongoing security coordination between the two allies.
Lebanese officials and international organisations have condemned the continued strikes as flagrant violations of both the truce and Lebanon’s sovereignty. According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 103 civilians have been killed since the truce came into force, many of them in residential areas or near UN peacekeeping sites. Lebanon’s Health Ministry places the overall death toll from Israeli military actions since the ceasefire at more than 285, with 630 wounded.