Two Hezbollah fighters killed in an Israeli drone strike on car in Baraasheet

Two Hezbollah fighters were killed Tuesday in an Israeli drone strike on a car in the Bint Jbeil district. Three others were injured in a separate bombardment of the village of Shihine in the Sour district of southern Lebanon.

Tensions remain high at the Lebanese-Israeli border, with American envoy Amos Hochstein scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Wednesday, as confirmed by L'Orient-Le Jour. The details of Hochstein's visit are not yet known.

As Western governments continue to urge Iran not to attack Israel, the deadline set by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt for resuming cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel is approaching. Despite this, exchanges of fire at the Lebanese-Israeli border have remained sporadic and contained.

Tensions escalated sharply in the early afternoon at the southern border when an Israeli drone struck a car on the road between Beit Yahoun and Baraasheet in the Bint Jbeil district. The Lebanese Health Ministry’s emergency operations center confirmed that the attack resulted in two deaths, both Hezbollah fighters. The group identified the victims as Ibrahim Jamil al-Achi, born in 1987 and from Bint Jbeil, and Fadi Mohammad Shehab, born in 1980 and from Baraasheet. According to our correspondent, both men were killed in the drone strike on Baraasheet.

Since the beginning of the exchange of fire with Israel on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah has lost 409 members in Lebanon and Syria, including 367 in Lebanon alone.

The Israeli military, as reported by Haaretz, stated that it had targeted "two Hezbollah fighters from the group's command in southern Lebanon," though it did not specify the exact location of the strike. The military also reported attacks on Hezbollah military buildings, an anti-tank missile launch site in southern Lebanon, and an observation post in the Mount Dov area near the Lebanese border.

Three injured by Israeli attacks in Shihine, South Lebanon

In the afternoon, Israeli artillery struck the village of Khiam in the Marjayoun district and the area around the Wazzani River in the Hasbaya district.

Three people were injured in an Israeli attack on Shihine in the Sour district, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry’s emergency operations center and a security source cited by our correspondent.

Simultaneous artillery fire also hit the village of Alma al-Shaab in the Sour district.

In the early evening, the areas around Naqoura in Sour, Rashaf, and Aita al-Shaab in Bint Jbeil were also targeted.

Just before the fatal strike in the Bint Jbeil district, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting Israeli soldiers gathered at the Samaka site on the contested Kfar Shuba hills in the Hasbaya district at 1:45 p.m. Witnesses also reported Israeli artillery fire in the areas around Zebqine and Tayr Harfa in the Sour district, and later Kfar Hammam and Rashaya al-Foukhar in the Hasbaya district.

In the morning, the fragile calm that had prevailed since midnight was disrupted at 7:30 a.m. by two Israeli artillery shells targeting the town of Abbassieh in the Sour district.

Subsequent incidents included Israeli artillery fire on Kfar Kila in Marjayoun and Aita al-Shaab in Bint Jbeil around 10 a.m., followed by Hezbollah’s operations targeting "spy equipment at the Maskaf Am site and a deployment of soldiers at the Metat barracks."

Israeli aircraft also conducted multiple overflights of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, according to our regional correspondent, Sarah Abdallah.

The night from Monday to Tuesday saw several incidents: A fire in Maroun al-Ras in Bint Jbeil at 9 p.m. instigated by Israeli attacks; Israeli airstrikes on the area around Jabal Blat in the Sour district and the al-Jabal neighborhood north of Mays al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district, where a house was destroyed; and Israeli artillery fire on Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), Jibbayn, and Tayr Harfa both in the Sour district around midnight.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.