After a day that raised fears for the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, in effect since Nov. 27, tension in southern Lebanon eased Sunday, despite a few new incidents.

The most severe incident occurred in the morning. An Israeli drone targeted a car in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) killing its occupant, Hassan Nehmeh al-Zein, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

The man owned a café that was targeted by artillery fire overnight. According to locals, he went to inspect the damage Sunday morning when a drone pursued him before firing a missile at his vehicle.

It was still unclear whether this man was a civilian or a combatant. However, the Israeli army claimed responsibility for the strike in the afternoon, stating that they had killed a member of Hezbollah. He is the ninth person killed by the numerous Israeli strikes conducted since Saturday in response to rockets fired from Lebanon, according to Israel, intercepted before reaching Metula. No group claimed responsibility for these attacks and Hezbollah firmly denied any involvement.

Israel responded Saturday to these attacks with two successive waves of strikes in the early afternoon and evening, which killed eight and injured several others. A Hezbollah member, Radwan Salim Awada, was killed in Qlayleh (Sour). Five other people, including a Syrian and his daughter, were killed in Touline (Marjayoun) and two other civilians in Sour.

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Statement from the Lebanese army

The two victims of this strike, which partially destroyed a building Saturday night, were a 61-year-old man named Safi and a 37-year-old mother of two, Rania Abbas Houmani, L'Orient Today's journalists on the scene reported. One of Houmani's daughters, aged 12, was also injured by the strike, according to relatives of the victim, who stated their commitment to Hezbollah's "resistance." The funeral for the mother was to be held on Sunday. Safi's is scheduled for a later date, pending the arrival of his two children living in Abidjan.

The Association of Traders in Sour announced Sunday afternoon the cancellation of the market opening ceremony "following the brutal aggression of the city."

The Lebanese army, deployed in southern Lebanon, issued a statement saying that "the Israeli enemy has increased the frequency of its attacks against Lebanon since [Saturday] under various pretexts, conducting dozens of raids to the south and north of the Litani, up to the Bekaa, which have caused deaths and injuries and significant property damage."

The army statement also denounced "the encroachment of Israeli bulldozers into Lebanese territory this morning (Sunday) to clear entire areas in Wadi Qatmoun, near Rmaish (Bint Jbeil), not to mention a deployment of enemy soldiers in this area, blatantly violating United Nations Resolution 1701." The army mentioned in its statement the strengthening its presence in the concerned area and conducting patrols with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to document the Israeli violations.

On Saturday, President Joseph Aoun, and the prime minister, Nawaf Salam, both reacted to the Israeli strikes. The former warned against a return to the "spiral of violence," while the latter emphasized the need for the Lebanese state to be the sole decision-maker regarding "war and peace." Foreign Minister Joe Rajji stated he made diplomatic contacts to pressure Israel to calm tensions at the Lebanese-Israeli border. He notably contacted the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the European foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, who is visiting Israel on Monday to advocate for the restoration of the cease-fire in Gaza.

Statements from Geagea and Fadlallah

On Sunday, the Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, said that the rocket fire from Lebanon towards Israel on Saturday was sufficient to "reshuffle the cards." Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah stated that Israel was exploiting "the weakness of the [Lebanese] state, its limited means, and its lack of courage," as well as "some internal Lebanese voices that ... promote the Israeli war against Lebanon, considering it an opportunity to get rid of the 'resistance.'''

On Sunday, an Israeli drone fired at a prefabricated house in Naqoura (Sour), then at three houses in Shihine (Sour), early in the morning, without causing supposed victims.

Israeli drones and planes flew over Beirut and Saida, as well as the south in the districts of Marjayoun and Hasbaya. Planes also flew over the Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in this region. In the afternoon, a man was injured by a bomb dropped by an Israeli drone on a bulldozer near him in the village of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil). The bulldozer was used to clear debris from houses destroyed by the war.

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