Israel strikes south Lebanon villages, claims it hit Hezbollah

Israel's military struck several locations in south Lebanon on Monday, including in two villages where it issued evacuation warnings, claiming it was hitting Hezbollah targets.

Despite a November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed group, Israel has kept up regular strikes on parts of Lebanon and has maintained troops in five border areas it deems strategic.

The Israeli military said it struck "several Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon, in order to prevent re-establishment attempts".

It added that one of the targets was "in the heart of a civilian area", accusing the group of "continued operations from within civilian infrastructure". Hezbollah has previously denied these claims.

The Israeli army had previously sent evacuation warnings for Kfar Tibnit and Ain Qana in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on the targeted buildings in both villages.

Videos shared on social media showed the moment the strikes happened, and the destruction as a result.

Earlier on Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli strike on Ansariyeh in southern Lebanon killed one person and wounded four others.

Another strike on Qleileh, elsewhere in the south, also wounded four people, according to the ministry.

The NNA reported Israeli strikes on vehicles near both areas, which came without warning.

The Israeli army said it killed an operative who "was involved in attempts to rehabilitate Hezbollah military infrastructure" in Ansariyeh.

Beirut has repeatedly protested Israeli strikes on Lebanon as violations of the ceasefire, and has called on Tel Aviv to end its occupation of the five hilltops in the south.

In January, Lebanon's army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area south of the Litani river, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticised the army's progress as insufficient, while Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.

Lebanon's army chief will be in Washington this week to brief officials on the military's efforts to disarm Hezbollah in the south. General Rodolphe Haykal has vowed that the army will continue its mission, but said Israel's ongoing occupation and strikes in the south have obstructed the Lebanese army's work.

More than 360 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the 2024 ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.