An Israeli drone strike killed five people, including three children, in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Two others were wounded in the attack.
Lebanon’s state news agency reported that the strike targeted a motorbike and a vehicle. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that the victims included a father and his three children, while the mother was injured. He added that the family held U.S. citizenship.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson offered a cautious response, saying that “so far, indications are that the five killed were not U.S. citizens. In fact, one had an unused immigrant visa petition in the past.”
The Israeli military said the strike killed a Hezbollah member but acknowledged that “several uninvolved civilians were killed.” In a statement, it added: “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible. The incident is under review.”
The attack comes despite a U.S.-brokered truce between Israel and Lebanon that took effect in November after more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war.
Israel has continued to target what it describes as Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, while the Iranian-backed group has pledged to resist disarmament talks until Israeli strikes cease and occupied areas in the south are vacated.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strike in a post on X, calling it “a blatant crime against civilians and a message of intimidation aimed at our people returning to their villages in the south.”
Lebanon remains under international pressure, particularly from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals, to curb the group’s influence.
Hezbollah, however, insists that any discussion of disarmament while Israeli airstrikes continue would be “a serious misstep.”
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
