Two killed in Israeli strike in Hermel, Israeli army claims 'important' Hezbollah target

BEIRUT — An Israeli drone strike on Wednesday targeted a car on the Hosh al-Sayyed Ali-al-Qasr road in northern Hermel, killing two people, reported our regional correspondent in the Bekaa.

Israeli reconnaissance drones continued to fly over Hermel at low altitude following the attack. 

For its part, the Israeli army said it had carried out a strike targeting an "important" member of Hezbollah in Lebanon. "A short time ago, (the army) carried out a precise, intelligence-based strike against an important Hezbollah terrorist from unit 4400 in the Qasr region of Lebanon" (north), the army said in a statement.

The Israeli army said it conducted a "precision, intelligence-based" strike in northern Lebanon targeting an "important" Hezbollah member "from unit 4400 in the Qasr region." A few hours later, the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, claimed that the target of the strike is Maher Ali Nasreddine, a leader of the 4400 unit.

According to the Israeli army, this unit was responsible for "transferring weapons and combat equipment from Iran, operating along the Syria-Lebanon border," and had "built numerous smuggling routes." "Maher Ali Nasreddine played an important role in the arms transfer operations and was personally involved in cooperating with the smugglers," the statement added. 

'A new reality,' Baalbeck-Hermel MP says

Hezbollah MP for Baalbeck-Hermel, Ihab Hamadeh, strongly condemned the latest Israeli strike on his constituency during the parliament's vote of confidence, calling it a "crossing of all lines." "The enemy's persistent aggression against all titles of sovereignty in Lebanon, most recently in Hermel, confronts us all with a new reality that the enemy is trying to impose," he said.

Additionally, Hamadeh also criticized the Israeli "violations" of all Lebanese territory. "The enemy is targeting the citizens of South Lebanon, the Bekaa, the North, and the capital, in full view of those who are trying to convince us of their concern for sovereignty, while we hear no stance or see behavior commensurate with that concern," he said. He also highlighted the presence of Israeli drones over Beirut's skies on Wednesday during the vote of confidence session.

Hamadeh urged the State to take a clear position against these "aggressions" and their "official sponsors," stressing that "the enemy's plans will not work" and that Lebanon will be protected "only by its strength, not by its weakness."

Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli military conducted mock air raids by flying at low altitudes in southern Lebanon.

On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Aashra neighborhood, near Nabi Sheet (Baalbeck district), killing at least two people and wounding three others.

The Israeli army has carried out several strikes on southern Lebanon and the Bekaa in recent days, including on Sunday, on the sidelines of the funeral of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27, 2023.

Hezbollah and Israel accuse each other of violating the truce agreement that ended the war on Nov. 27. Hezbollah emerged from the war, considerably weakened, having lost a large part of its arsenal and its leaders. 

Since the cease-fire took effect, "at least 57 civilians" have been killed by Israel in southern Lebanon, according to a Feb. 13 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In total, 93 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to our count. Six of these have been killed since the official end of the cease-fire period on Feb. 18.

After the expiry of the deadline for withdrawing from southern Lebanon, under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel maintained its occupation of several "strategic" points on the border, which was denounced by Lebanon and Hezbollah.