Hezbollah member killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon

Beirut/Jerusalem, July 25 (IANS) A Hezbollah member was killed in a series of airstrikes launched by Israeli warplanes and drones targeting southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and sources.

The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, affiliated with Lebanon's Ministry of Health, confirmed on Thursday in a statement that one person was killed in a drone strike on a vehicle in Aita al-Shaab, in the Bint Jbeil district, Xinhua news agency reported.

A Lebanese army intelligence source told Xinhua news agency that Israeli warplanes carried out about 12 airstrikes across wide areas in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah sites that had previously been hit in similar air raids.

According to a Lebanese security source, the person killed was named Mustafa Harisi, a member of Hezbollah.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced that the army attacked military sites belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, including weapons, storage facilities, and a rocket launcher.

"The presence of such weaponry in that area, and Hezbollah's activities there, constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," he said, adding that the army will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel.

He also confirmed that the army eliminated a Hezbollah member in an attack on the Aita al-Shaab area.

A ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the US and France, has been in place since late November last year, putting an end to hostilities between the two triggered by the war in Gaza.

Despite the agreement, the Israeli army occasionally carries out strikes in Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah "threats," and maintains its presence at five key points along the Lebanese border area.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army announced on Thursday the arrest of three individuals affiliated with a terror cell that supports the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the cell "was receiving instructions from IS operatives abroad to carry out security operations against the Lebanese army," said a statement issued by the Army Command's Orientation Directorate.

The army affirmed that efforts are underway to apprehend additional members of the cell, reiterating its commitment to safeguarding national security and preventing any attempts to destabilise the country.

--IANS

int/khz