One person killed in Israeli strike on motorcycle in southern Lebanon
An Israeli drone has hit a motorcycle in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh region, killing one person, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows people surrounding the charred remains of the still smoldering vehicle in the street.
Lebanon Parliament speaker calls for national dialogue on Hezbollah weapons
Nabih Berri has pushed back against a US insistence to swiftly disarm Hezbollah, calling instead for dialogue.
“We are open to discussing the fate of these weapons, which we Lebanese see as honourable, within the framework of a calm and consensual dialogue,” Berri said.
Berri, who played a central role in negotiating last year’s ceasefire that ended Israel’s bombardment of parts of Lebanon, including Beirut, said outside pressure risked deepening divisions.
His comments come as the Lebanese army prepares to present a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, a proposal endorsed by President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and most of his cabinet after US envoy Tom Barrack’s push.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has said the group’s weapons will not be surrendered until the Israeli military withdraws from five hilltops in southern Lebanon that it controls and stops its near-daily strikes on southern Lebanon.
Israeli army blows up building in southern Lebanon it says was used by Hezbollah
The Israeli army has released aerial footage of its forces blowing up a building in the repeatedly bombed Aita al-Shaab area of southern Lebanon near the border with Israel.
It claimed in a statement that the building was “used by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation for military activity” and called this a “blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon”.
The building allegedly served as the home of a Hezbollah operative who was killed a week earlier in the same village, according to the Israeli army.
Israeli forces have destroyed a large number of homes and buildings in ground attacks across southern Lebanon during the war on Gaza, and have continued to bomb Lebanon and operate inside its borders despite the November ceasefire with Hezbollah.
