Three people killed in Israeli strike near Lebanon’s Sidon
The air strike has targeted a car on the Aqtnit-Qantara road in the Sidon district of southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports. The Israeli military said it struck several Hezbollah members in the Sidon area but did not provide details.
Sidon lies on Lebanon’s coast about 50km (about 30 miles) south of Beirut.
Italy seeks to keep military in Lebanon after UN forces leave
The UN peacekeeping force Italy is also a part of will complete its mission and leave as planned on December 31, 2026.
“Even after [the peacekeeping force] UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and supporting the capacity development of the Lebanese armed forces,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said during a visit to Lebanon, according to a statement.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, remaining after Israel ended an occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.
Lebanon had wanted UNIFIL to stay.
But the UN Security Council voted in August to allow only one final extension for UNIFIL after pressure from Israel and its US ally to end the mandate.
UNIFIL is currently led by Italian Major-General Diodato Abagnara and numbers 9,923 troops from 49 countries, according to the force’s website.
Italy is the second biggest contributing country with 1,099 soldiers deployed after Indonesia, which has 1,232 soldiers.
Under a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the long-fledgling Lebanese national army has been deploying in southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure.
