Lebanon: Four killed in Israeli attack

(Patria) - Lebanon announced that four people were killed in an Israeli attack on Sunday near the Syrian border in the east of the country, and Israel claims they targeted operatives of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.

Despite the November 2024 ceasefire, which aimed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued regular attacks on Lebanon, usually claiming to target the Iran-backed group, but occasionally Palestinian Hamas, AFP reports.

This appears to be the first attack Israel has claimed in Lebanon against Islamic Jihad, which is also an ally of Hezbollah, since the ceasefire.

An Israeli drone "targeted a car on the Lebanese-Syrian border," the state-run National News Agency reported, adding that there were "four bodies" in the vehicle.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health confirmed the death toll in a statement. The Israeli military said in a statement that it "attacked Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Majdal Anjar area".

Islamic Jihad fighters were among those killed in Lebanon during the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which broke out in October 2023 due to the war in Gaza.

The group and Hamas claimed responsibility for some attacks and infiltration attempts from Lebanon during the hostilities. More than 370 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to health ministry reports.