A Lebanese flag in the village of Shebaa in southern Lebanon, facing the Israeli military position known as "Radar," near the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, July 23, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army claimed responsibility for an attack on southern Lebanon Sunday evening that killed a man as he was driving a vehicle between the Marjayoun district village of Touline and the Bint Jbeil district village of Burj Qalaway.
According to an Israeli army statement, the target of the drone strike was Mohammad Ali Yassine, a Hezbollah member who Israel claims "took part in the development and production of weapons" for the party. Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Lebanon in November 2024 but has not in fact stopped it attacks against the country, killing more than 310 people since.
Late Sunday evening, Hezbollah confirmed Yassine's identity but did not disclose his role within the group.
This strike came in the final hours of a weekend that was somewhat less deadly than previous days but in which the Israeli army — still occupying six positions on Lebanese territory, in violation of the truce — continued its operations.
On Friday, another man who was also a member of Hezbollah was killed by Israel in a drone strike on Aitaroun, in Bint Jbeil district. His name was Hussein Khalil Mansour.
Israeli incursion into Houla
At dawn on Monday, the Israeli army entered the southern Lebanese village of Houla, rigged a building with explosives and detonated it, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South reported, citing residents of the Marjayoun district village.
Israeli soldiers have been carrying out such incursions into Lebanon with increasing frequency in recent days. Last week, Israeli soldiers demolished a school for children with disabilities in Aita al-Shaab.
Just before midnight on Sunday, targeted the Hasbaya district village of Shebaa with machine-gun fire. Soldiers fired on the village's southern neighborhood from a military outpost on Lebanese territory that it had recently occupied, expanding its occupation of Lebanese land from five to six points along the border.
Israel established the initial five sites on Jan. 27, the date that was supposed to mark the complete withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon, according to the cease-fire agreement it had signed two months prior. The violation continues despite the existence of a "cease-fire monitoring committee" ostensibly responsible for addressing violations on either side.
Hezbollah has not retaliated against any of the Israeli attacks, which continue unabated. Under U.S. pressure and fearing intensified Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government last month ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm Hezbollah.
According to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government, the Lebanese Army is required to complete this disarmament within three months for the region south of the Litani River. There is no timeline regarding the party's disarmament north of the river.
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