Series of Israeli strikes hit Lebanon

Beirut: A series of Israeli strikes hit south and east Lebanon on Friday, state media reported, as Israel’s army said it was targeting Hezbollah sites, the latest such raids despite a year-old ceasefire.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes in around a dozen locations, including up to around 30 kilometres from the Israeli border, citing at times “heavy raids”.

Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, and has also kept troops in five areas it deems strategic.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck a training and qualification compound” used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force where operatives “underwent shooting exercises and additional training on the use of various types of weapons”.

The army also “struck additional Hezbollah military infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon”, it said.

According to the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres from the border with Israel, and have its military infrastructure there dismantled.

Under a government-approved plan, Lebanon’s army is to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure south of the Litani by the end of the year, before tackling the rest of the country.

The sites struck on Friday were generally north of the river.

Earlier this week, Israel launched a series of strikes on southern Lebanon, also saying it hit a Hezbollah training centre and other targets.