UNIFIL says Israeli drone dropped explosive near peacekeepers in Lebanon
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, has said the Israeli military used a drone to drop an explosive device near its personnel during a patrol.
In a statement, UNIFIL said peacekeepers on a planned patrol near the town of Adeisse were alerted by residents to a potential threat at a nearby house, where they discovered an explosive device connected to a detonating cord.
As they prepared to inspect another location, a drone hovering overhead dropped a grenade about 30 metres from the patrol.
UNIFIL said no peacekeepers were injured and it sent a stop-fire request to the Israeli army. It said such actions endanger both peacekeepers and civilians, urging Israel to ensure their safety and halt activities that put them at risk.
The UN Security Council has voted to extend UNIFIL’s mandate until the end of 2026, followed by an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” during 2027.
Two killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon
Two people have been killed in separate Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry says.
One person had been killed in a raid on a truck in the town of al-Mansouri, in the district of Tyre in southern Lebanon, earlier today. In a separate incident overnight, one person was killed in the Israeli attack on a car in Mayfadoun in the Nabatieh district, the ministry said.
Israeli forces carry out new incursions in Syria’s Quneitra countryside
Israeli forces have advanced into villages in Syria’s southern Quneitra countryside, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
The Israeli army deployed eight military vehicles and three tanks from the Tal al-Ahmar area westward towards Ain al-Zaywan and Sweisa in southern Quneitra. The force spread through Sweisa for about an hour before moving towards the small village of Dawayah, as tanks simultaneously entered the Abu Qubais hill, SANA reported.
Local sources said the forces remained there briefly before withdrawing, with no reports of arrests or casualties.
The latest incursion occurred despite an agreement reached earlier this month between Syria and Israel to establish a US-supervised communication mechanism aimed at reducing military escalation and facilitating coordination, according to a trilateral statement issued following talks in Paris.
