Israeli Strikes Against Southern Lebanon Kill at Least Two, Claims Hezbollah Figure Slain

Israel continues to carry out attacks against southern Lebanon, despite there being an active ceasefire in place since November 26. They included a drone strike against a vehicle in Nabatieh Governorate, in the area around Deir al-Zahrani, another just further north, and another strike against what Israel is calling a “Hezbollah facility” elsewhere along the border. At least two people were reported to have been slain.

Israel says that the Deir al-Zahrani strike killed a man named Hassan Abbas Izzadine, who it called a significant Hezbollah air unit figure. Izzadine was reportedly a “significant source of knowledge” for the drones according to the IDF, while the IAF presented him as the head of Hezbollah’s aerial unit in Bader.

The other drone strike targeted a vehicle just north of the first strike, and came about 15 minutes later. Reportedly another person was killed in this strike, though they have not been identified by either the Lebanese Health Ministry or by Israelis.

A third strike by the IAF targeted what it called a Hezbollah facility that it claimed Hezbollah members were gathered at. The facility was only identified as somewhere in South Lebanon, with no further detail given.

It was also announced that Israel and Lebanon have begun new negotiations on the disputes over where exactly the land border between the two nations is. The US reportedly pushed hard for such negotiations to begin.

The de facto border right now is the Blue Line, drawn by the UN in 2000, though several locations along the Blue Line are disputed. The most significant disagreement is over Shebaa Farms, presently under Israeli occupation.

The Shebaa Farms is between the occupied Golan Heights (internationally recognized as Syrian, but annexed by Israel) and southern Lebanon. Israel has argued that the Shebaa Farms are just part of the Golan Heights they’ve already conquered, while Lebanon and Syria both claim it to be Lebanese territory.

Israel reported that it intends to release five detainees back to Lebanon in a show of good will to Lebanon’s new president. The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed receiving four of those detainees through Ras Naqoura crossing, and that they were taken to Tyre. A fifth detainee is expected to be released Wednesday.