Israeli military launches Lebanon assault

Beirut (AFP) — The Israeli military launched strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, after warning it would hit what it called Hezbollah and Hamas targets in four villages.

It was the first such warning issued by the Israeli military this year, as Israel continues to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

An AFP photographer in Kfar Hatta, one of the targeted villages in south Lebanon, saw dozens of families flee the village after the warning was issued, amid drone activity in the area, adding that ambulances and fire trucks were on standby.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on the four villages.

It later reported a new series of strikes near the southern towns of Saksakiyeh and Sarafand, without prior warning.

According to the NNA, the strike on Al-Manara in eastern Lebanon caused “the complete destruction of a house and serious damage to surrounding houses, cars and commercial establishments.”

The Israeli military said in a statement it “began striking Hezbollah and Hamas terror targets in Lebanon.”

In two separate posts on X, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said the villages were Kfar Hatta and Annan in south Lebanon, and Al-Manara and Ain al-Tineh in eastern Lebanon.

Adraee said the military would hit Hezbollah sites in Kfar Hatta and Ain al-Tinah, and Hamas sites in Annan and Al-Manara.

The NNA said the home targeted in Al-Manara belonged to Sharhabil Sayed, a Hamas leader in Lebanon who was killed by Israel in 2024.

Despite a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel carries out regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is bombing Hezbollah sites and operatives, and occasionally Hamas targets.

Two people were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle on Sunday, around 10 kilometers from the border, the Lebanese health ministry said.