South Lebanon council official wounded in Israeli gunfire amid continued strikes

A municipal council member was wounded in south Lebanon and taken to hospital after being shot by Israeli forces on Friday morning, a day after Israel launched strikes across the area.

Bassam Sweid, a councillor from the town of Dhayra near the border with Israel, was rushed to the Lebanese-Italian Hospital in Tyre after being shot on his way to the village, local reports said.

His situation was described as "critical."

The Lebanese health ministry confirmed that "a citizen was wounded in the town of Dhayra, Tyre district, after the Israeli enemy opened fire in his direction."

Despite a November ceasefire which ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, including over two months of all-out war, Israel continues to carry out attacks on Lebanon.

More than 3,000 violations have been recorded since 27 November 2024, when the ceasefire came into effect.

Under the US-brokered deal, Israel must pull out its troops from southern Lebanon but has instead kept forces in five strategic border areas.

It has continued to conduct airstrikes mainly in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and officials and vowing to keep the group weakened after last year’s war.

This has allowed Israel to monitor the border region and create a buffer zone, regularly targeting border villages including Dhayra.

The latest strikes on Wednesday hit the areas of Rihan, Borghoz, Jarmaq and Ansar.

The Israeli military claimed in a statement that the raids targeted "Hezbollah military sites," including weapons depots and rocket launchers.

The statement added that "the presence of these weapons constitutes a flagrant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon."

Israel says it will only withdraw from Lebanon and stop its attacks once Hezbollah fully disarms, in line with the November ceasefire agreement.

US envoy Tom Barrack was in Beirut this week to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament with government officials but failed to make any breakthrough, according to local media.

In remarks which have raised concerns about a possible Israeli escalation in the coming weeks, Barrack said a timeframe to disarm Hezbollah did exist, but this was in Israel’s hands and not Washington’s.

He said now was the time for Hezbollah – which the US considers to be a terrorist group – and Israel to reach an agreement, otherwise Israeli strikes will continue.

The Lebanese government has repeatedly said that all militant groups in the country, including Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in refugee camps, will be disarmed.

President Joseph Aoun has said however that he would rather reach an understanding with Hezbollah through dialogue and avoid confrontation which could drag Lebanon into civil strife.