Israeli strike on Zebdine kills couple
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a husband and wife on Monday, including a man who lost his eyesight in Israel's pager attack against Hezbollah last year, according to Lebanese state media.
Israel has kept up attacks on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives or sites, despite a November ceasefire following more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group.
It has also kept troops in five areas of south Lebanon that it deems strategic.
Israel did not immediately comment on the strike.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) identified the man as Hassan Atwi, who was wounded and lost his sight when Israel blew up hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members last year.
His wife, Zainab Raslan who was driving, was also killed.
According to the NNA, the couple had two sons killed during the year-long hostilities.
The Israeli military said Atwi was "a key terrorist in Hezbollah's aerial defense unit in the Nabatiyeh area" and had "led the reestablishment and rearmament efforts" of the unit and "maintained contact with and purchased equipment from the unit's leaders in Iran".
In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry said that "an Israeli drone strike targeted a car on the Zebdine road in the Nabatiyeh district" in south Lebanon, killing two people and wounding one other.
The Israeli military also said it had struck "military compounds... used by Hezbollah for training" in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa area, while the NNA reported several air strikes in northeastern Hermel province.
Last week, the United Nations said it had verified the deaths of 103 civilians in Lebanon since the November truce, demanding a halt to the ongoing suffering.
Hezbollah, which was massively weakened by the war, faces a push to give up its arsenal.
The Lebanese government, under intense U.S. and Israeli pressure, is set to discuss on Monday the army's first monthly report on its plan to disarm the group.
Source: Agence France Presse
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