At least 10 people, including high-ranking soldiers, have been killed in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, days after the countries agreed to a conditional truce during US-mediated talks. The Lebanese army reported on Saturday that two officers—a brigadier general and a captain—and a soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road.
The Israeli regime's military said the attack was in an “active combat zone” and that “movement in a combat zone requires coordination” with its forces, adding that the incident is under investigation. Following the attack, the Lebanese army stated that “the continuation of the deliberate and repeated brutal Israeli aggression … is aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of international laws and norms.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people,” extending condolences to the families of Brigadier General Wassam Sabra, Captain Elie Khoury, and soldier Hussein Ghozal.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah dubbed the attack a “heinous crime” and accused the Lebanese government of exposing its own country to bloodshed through its “complete surrender to the enemy’s demands in Washington.” Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reported that more than 50 Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the conflict began on March 2, but “this is the first time that such a high-ranking general was killed.”
Separately, an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Saksakiyah killed six people and wounded four, while another person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the highway in Deir al-Zahrani. The Israeli regime also renewed forced displacement orders for several southern Lebanese villages, ordering residents to move north of the Zahrani River.
Hezbollah claimed its fighters struck an Israeli Merkava tank at the Blat outpost in the Bint Jbeil area using an Ababil swooping drone. A ceasefire that took effect on April 17 has never been fully respected, with both sides exchanging accusations of violations. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a conditional truce announced this week in Washington.
The latest outbreak of conflict between the Israeli regime and Hezbollah began in early March, with the group claiming to act in support of Tehran. At least 3,558 people have been killed and 10,870 injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, according to the Health Ministry. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected President Aoun’s comments that Beirut was a bargaining chip for Tehran in US negotiations.
Source: www.aljazeera.com