Paramedics, bystanders and Lebanese Army soldiers surround a vehicle targeted by an Israeli drone in Khaldeh on July 3, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-le Jour)
BEIRUT — An Israeli drone struck a car near the Khaldeh bridge, just south of Beirut, shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, during rush hour, killing the driver and injuring five other people, according to an official announcement from the Ministry of Health.
Eyewitnesses told L'Orient Today that two explosions were heard during the attack. A first missile was reportedly launched at the car before it reached the bridge, but did not hit it. The driver pulled over after crossing the bridge, at which point the second missile struck the vehicle, causing a massive explosion.
While the Israeli army has been bombing Lebanon nearly daily, this attack is irregular in having occurred during a time of heavy traffic and so close to the capital. Most Israeli drone strikes have been against villages in the South and the Bekaa.
The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee published a statement on X announcing that the Israeli army "recently carried out a strike in Lebanon targeting a militant involved in arms smuggling and executing terrorist plots against Israeli civilians and the [Israeli army], on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force."
Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Hezbollah, via Lebanese authorities, in November 2024, but has continued to attack Lebanon at will, despite the existence of a cease-fire monitoring committee mandated to process complaints and violations.
Parallel to the cease-fire agreement, the U.S. and Israel signed an "understanding" in which the former agreed that the latter would be free to act upon perceived "threats" inside Lebanon.
Waves of Israeli bombardments
Two hours later, the Israeli army bombed several areas in southern Lebanon almost simultaneously. Explosions were heard in Reihan, and several air raids targeted the hills of Aishieh and Jarmak, in Jezzine district, and another airstrike hit the riverbed of Zawtar al-Sharqieh, in Nabatieh district.
A second wave of attacks targeted the Litani twice, on its western banks between Zawtar and Yohmor al-Shaqif, and the outskirts of Deir Seriane, which overlooks the Litani in Marjayoun district.
In a third wave, Israel bombed the vicinity of Barghoz, in Hasbaya district, and the hills around Iqlim al-Tuffah, in Nabatieh district.
In a statement released after its air force had bombed more than 10 sites across southern Lebanon, the Israeli army claimed to have been targeting "military sites and weapons depots ... military buildings and terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah."
Shortly after, Israeli fighter jets bombed a nature reserve in the Zilaya area of western Bekaa.
Reporting contributed by L'Orient Today's correspondent the South, Muntasser Abdallah, and in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.
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