Israel hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon days into fragile truce

The Israeli military carried out air strikes in Lebanon Saturday against Hezbollah activities that it said "posed a threat", days into a fragile ceasefire between it and the Iran-backed group.

The army said it had also struck "military infrastructure" on the Syria-Lebanon border, where it accused Hezbollah of smuggling weapons in violation of the truce.

In a speech this week announcing his government was ready to accept a ceasefire after more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that Israel would maintain "full military freedom of action" in the event of any breach.

In a statement on Saturday, the military listed four separate strikes in Lebanon on facilities, weapons and vehicles belonging to Hezbollah, saying it had acted "against activities in Lebanon that posed a threat to the State of Israel, violating the ceasefire understandings".

Lebanon's health ministry said that an Israeli "strike on a car in Majdal Zoun wounded three people including a seven-year-old child".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported "continued violations of the ceasefire" by Israel, including an incident in which an Israeli tank "crushed a number of cars and surrounded some families" who were later evacuated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Separately, Israel's military said it had launched a "strike on military infrastructure sites adjacent to border crossings between Syria and Lebanon that were actively used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons", adding that the alleged smuggling took place after the ceasefire took effect.

- US general discusses ceasefire -

The ceasefire deal, which was intended to end more than a year of cross-border exchanges of fire and two months of all-out war, went into effect early on Wednesday.

As part of the terms of the agreement, the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.

Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, approximately 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

On Friday, the group's chief Naim Qassem vowed to cooperate with the Lebanese army "to implement the commitments of the agreement".

NNA reported that army chief Joseph Aoun met US Major General Jasper Jeffers to discuss "the general situation and coordination mechanisms between concerned parties in the south".

The US military's Central Command said Jeffers arrived in Beirut this week "to serve as co-chair for the implementation and monitoring mechanism of the cessation of hostilities".

According to Lebanon's health ministry, at least 3,961 people have been killed in the country since October 2023 as a result of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, most of them in recent weeks.

On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.

- Hamas publishes hostage video -

Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Hamas's attack resulted in 1,207 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 44,382 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Militants also seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack. Ninety-seven are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.

Hamas's armed wing published a video Saturday of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

In the video, Alexander addresses US President-elect Donald Trump in English and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew, and calls on Israelis to put pressure on the government to secure the release of the hostages.

"The shocking video of Edan, an American-Israeli citizen, is definite proof that despite all the rumours -- there are living hostages and they are suffering greatly," the Hostage Families Forum campaign group said in a statement, adding that "returning the hostages is only possible through a deal".

Meanwhile, the US charity World Central Kitchen said Saturday it was "pausing operations in Gaza" after an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle carrying its workers.

The Israeli military earlier confirmed that a strike in Gaza killed a Palestinian employee of the charity, accusing the worker of being a "terrorist" who "infiltrated Israel and took part in the murderous October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz".

While WCK confirmed a strike had hit its staff, it did not confirm any deaths, noting it was "working with incomplete information".

Earlier Saturday, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the bodies of "at least five dead were transported (to hospital), including the three employees of World Central Kitchen".

Israeli representatives demanded that WCK "order an urgent examination regarding the hiring of workers who took part in the October 7 massacre", an army statement said.

In its statement, WCK said it "had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack".

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