Israeli strikes on south Lebanon kill three: ministry

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli strikes Monday on southern Lebanon killed three people, according to the health ministry, with Israel's military saying it had "eliminated" a Hizbollah commander.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire that largely halted more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed Hizbollah group, including two months of all-out war.

An "Israeli enemy" strike on Monday on the town of Taybeh, near the border, "led to the death of one citizen", Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said the strike hit "in front of a motorcycle repair shop" in the town, in south Lebanon's Marjayoun district.

Later on Monday, the health ministry said "the Israeli enemy drone strike on Dardara road killed two Syrians and injured a citizen", also in Marjayoun. NNA had also reported the toll.

The ministry said two others were injured in strikes on the south.

They came after Lebanon on Sunday said an Israeli strike killed two people in south Lebanon's Zibqin, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hizbollah operatives in the area.

The NNA also reported Israeli strikes on prefabricated homes in south Lebanon's Naqura area on Sunday. Such structures have usually been set up for returning residents whose homes were destroyed in the conflict.

Israeli strikes last week also targeted other south Lebanon locations as well as Hizbollah's south Beirut bastion.

 'Dialogue' 

The truce accord was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and United Nations peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

On the weekend, visiting US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed the situation in south Lebanon and economic reforms with senior Lebanese officials, with talks also addressing Hizbollah's disarmament.

Hizbollah was left severely weakened in the latest war.

In an interview with Lebanese television channel LBCI broadcast on Sunday, Ortagus said Washington continued to press Lebanon's government "to fully fulfil the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hizbollah and all militias", adding it should happen "as soon as possible".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said the issue needed to be resolved "through communication and dialogue because in the end, Hizbollah is a Lebanese component".

Authorities would soon begin work on drafting a "national security strategy", added Aoun who has pledged to usher in a new era in which the Lebanese state will have a "monopoly on weapons".

Under the truce, Hizbollah was to withdraw fighters from south of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure there.

Israel was to pull out all its forces from south Lebanon, but it continues to hold five positions that it deems "strategic".

Aoun urged Washington to pressure Israel to withdraw from the five border points, saying the ongoing troop presence "complicates the situation".