BEIRUT – Two people were killed, and two others injured, in an Israeli drone strike on the southern Lebanese town of Toul on Friday, in what officials described as the latest breach of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The attack is the most recent in a string of near-daily Israeli air raids since the US-brokered truce took effect nearly a year ago.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed the fatalities, saying the strike targeted a vehicle in the Nabatieh district. A Lebanese security source told Al Jazeera that the drone “fired a missile directly at a car, causing it to catch fire.” Images circulating on local media showed black smoke rising from the scorched wreckage on a roadside.
The Israeli military later said it had targeted “a military camp and a site for the production of precision missiles,” and claimed responsibility for killing Abbas Hassan Karky, described by Israel as the “logistics commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front.” Hezbollah has not commented on the alleged killing.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a separate Israeli air strike on the Kroum al-Marah neighbourhood in Marjayoun, which caused property damage but no casualties.
These latest strikes came less than 24 hours after Israeli warplanes launched multiple attacks across Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region, killing at least two people and wounding several others. The raids targeted areas around Hermel, Janta and Shamstar, with local media reporting that shattered glass at Shamstar High School caused injuries among students. The Israeli army claimed it was attacking a “strategic weapons production site” linked to Hezbollah’s operations but provided no evidence.
Lebanese authorities say the repeated strikes constitute blatant violations of the November 2024 ceasefire, which ended over a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The truce agreement required Israel to fully withdraw its troops from Lebanese territory, a condition it has not met, as five Israeli military outposts remain along the border.
President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly appealed to Washington and Paris to pressure Israel into halting its cross-border operations. “Lebanon has abided by the ceasefire, but Israel continues to act with impunity,” a presidential statement read earlier this month. Aoun last month renewed calls for US intervention following a separate drone strike that killed five people, including three children, in southern Lebanon.
The escalating situation has also complicated Lebanon’s domestic plans to disarm Hezbollah. In August, Beirut pledged to implement the disarmament process by the end of the year, but Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem dismissed the proposal, citing “ongoing Israeli aggression and occupation” as justification for retaining its arsenal.
The frequency and scope of Israeli strikes have increased across Lebanon’s south and east, targeting alleged Hezbollah assets but frequently resulting in civilian casualties. In one of the most recent cases, an elderly woman was reportedly killed in her home in Arabsalim following artillery fire that struck residential areas.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to restore calm have faltered. US envoy Tom Barrack told Lebanese officials this week that Israel had “rejected calls for direct negotiations,” arguing that any talks would amount to a suspension of its current military operations.
Nearly a year after the truce was signed, Lebanon remains under almost daily bombardment. Analysts warn that the ongoing attacks are pushing both nations toward renewed war, as the ceasefire now resembles little more than a temporary pause in hostilities.
Sources: Al Jazeera, National News Agency Lebanon, The New Arab, Lebanese Ministry of Public Health
