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Israel launches wave of fresh strikes on Lebanon / Photo: Rabih DAHER - AFP
Israel launches wave of fresh strikes on Lebanon
Israel launched fresh strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon after raids earlier Wednesday killed two people, the latest violence despite a year-old ceasefire with the militant group.
The state-run National News Agency said Israeli warplanes launched raids on buildings in several south Lebanon towns including Qanarit and Kfour, after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings to residents identifying sites it intended to strike there.
An AFP photographer was slightly wounded along with two other journalists who were working near the site of a heavy strike in Qanarit.
The Israeli army said it was striking Hezbollah targets in response to the group's "repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings".
Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah.
But Israel has criticised the Lebanese army's progress as insufficient and has kept up regular strikes, usually saying it is targeting members of the Iran-backed group or its infrastructure.
Earlier Wednesday, the health ministry said an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the town of Zahrani, in the Sidon district, killed one person.
An AFP correspondent saw a charred car on a main road with debris strewn across the area and emergency workers in attendance.
Later, the ministry said another strike targeting a vehicle in the town of Bazuriyeh in the Tyre district killed one person.
Israel said it struck Hezbollah operatives in both areas.
A Lebanese army statement decried the Israeli targeting of "civilian buildings and homes" in a "blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and the ceasefire deal.
It also said such attacks "hinder the army's efforts" to complete the disarmament plan.
This month, the army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area south of the Litani river, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border.
Most of Wednesday's strikes were north of the river.
More than 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.
The November 2024 truce sought to end more than a year of hostilities, but Israel accuses Hezbollah of rearming, while the militant group has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
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H.Zampino--INP
