Israeli drone strike kills 5 in southern Lebanon, including 3 children

At least five people were killed by an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon on Sunday, including three children, the Lebanese health ministry said, as the president denounced the massacre.

The state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, near Bint Jbeil, had targeted a motorcycle.

Israel launches frequent strikes inside parts of Lebanon, particularly the south, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November ceasefire meant to end more than a year of hostilities between them.

Iran-backed Hezbollah emerged significantly weakened from the conflict, which culminated in over two months of open warfare following a year of cross-border clashes.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Sunday's massacre and called on the international community to press Israel to respect the ceasefire.

"As we are in New York to discuss matters of peace and human rights, Israel continues its ongoing violations of international resolutions," Aoun said, according to a presidency statement on X.

He accused Israel of "committing a new massacre in Bint Jbeil, which claimed the lives of five martyrs, including three children".

The president was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

"We call on the international community, whose leaders are present in the halls of the United Nations, to exert every effort to stop violations of international resolutions," he added.

He further called on countries "to pressure Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and abide by" the ceasefire agreement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had earlier denounced the strikes as a "deliberate crime against civilians", in a post on X.

"The guarantor states of the ceasefire agreement should exercise the strongest pressure on Israel to immediately stop its aggressions, withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory and free detainees," he said.

The November ceasefire is overseen by a committee including the United States and France, as well as Lebanon and Israel.

Israel has increased the number and frequency of its strikes in Lebanon this week.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it had struck arms depots belonging to Hezbollah in several areas of southern Lebanon following evacuation orders.

In the face of heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government is seeking to disarm Hezbollah.

Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi has said the army will complete the disarmament of the Iran-backed group in the border area within three months.

The army said Thursday's strikes took Israeli violations of the ceasefire to 4,500 and warned they risked slowing down Hezbollah's disarmament.