Five killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, including three children, Health Ministry says

An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed at least five people, including three children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The attack also injured at least two others, including the mother in the family that was targeted.

Israel says it was targeting a Hezbollah militant who it accused of “operating from within a civilian population” and acknowledged that the attack killed civilians. The Israeli military also announced that they’ve launched a probe to review the incident.

Israel frequently says that it is targeting Hezbollah militants or infrastructure in the tiny country’s battered southern region.

Hezbollah has only claimed firing across the border once since a ceasefire deal was reached between the warring sides in late November of last year, but Israel says the militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities, accusations for which it provided no evidence for.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed – the three children as well as their father – held US citizenship. Officials at the US Embassy in Beirut did not immediately react to the incident.

Since the ceasefire was struck to end monthslong cross border exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to target southern Lebanon almost daily.

Lebanese officials have warned that the ongoing strikes risk derailing the country's recent efforts to disarm the group and could destabilise the country.

President Joseph Aoun – who arrived in New York to participate in the UN General Assembly High-level week – alongside newly appointed Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah maintains that it no longer has a military presence south of the Litani River, and has however refused to speak of disarmament before Israel ceases its attacks and withdraws from southern Lebanese territory.

Aoun, who assumed office in January, condemned the latest strike and called on the international community to ramp up pressure on Israel to end the attacks on his country.

The monthslong war between Hezbollah and Israel has, to date, killed at least 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced residents across the country’s southern and eastern regions.

Hezbollah officials say the ongoing strikes justify their refusal to give up their arms, and claim that the ceasefire agreement and monitoring mechanism with the United States, France, and United Nations peacekeeping forces is ineffective.

Under the Washington-brokered ceasefire, both the militant Hezbollah group and Israel were required to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other. Israeli forces continue to occupy five Lebanese hilltop points along the border.