Israel said it struck four crossing points along the Syria–Lebanon border, saying they were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons, after earlier attacks on southern Lebanon killed at least two people and wounded nearly 20 others.
The latest Israeli strikes on Wednesday came despite a US-brokered ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2024, an agreement Israel has repeatedly been accused of violating.
“Once again, Israel is pursuing a policy of systematic aggression by carrying out air strikes on populated Lebanese villages, in a dangerous escalation that directly targets civilians,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement late Wednesday.
“This repeated aggressive behaviour reaffirms Israel’s refusal to abide by its obligations under the cessation of hostilities agreement,” he added.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said at least 19 people were injured in Israeli air strikes on the southern town of Qanarit.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes bombed buildings in several southern villages and towns, including al-Kharayeb, al-Ansar, Qanarit, Kfour and Jarjouh, after the Israeli army issued warnings of impending attacks on targets inside the country.
Earlier, the Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Zahrani, in the Sidon district, killed one person. Another strike targeting a vehicle in Bazuriyeh, in the Tyre district, killed a second person.
An AFP correspondent reported seeing a charred vehicle on a main road in Sidon, with debris scattered across the area and emergency workers at the scene.
An AFP photographer was slightly wounded, along with two other journalists, while covering a heavy Israeli strike in Qanarit, where 19 people were injured.
The Israeli military said on social media that it targeted four border crossings on the Syria–Lebanon frontier used for “weapons transfers” and that it had also “eliminated” a “key Hezbollah weapons smuggler” in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the Lebanese army condemned the strikes on “civilian buildings and homes” as a “blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty” and the ceasefire agreement.
The army added that the attacks were hindering its efforts to implement the disarmament plan for Hezbollah, which was part of the ceasefire deal.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to hand over its weapons amid continued Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 350 people in Lebanon since the ceasefire was signed in November 2024, according to an AFP casualty tally.
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