Israeli strikes on Lebanon condemned as 'war crimes,' Jaber urges US action

Following a day marked by massive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, which killed one person and injured seven despite a truce in place for nearly a year, tensions remained high in the region on Friday.

A man was killed by a drone and several Israeli attacks were reported on Friday afternoon.

In response to the escalation, Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, speaking from Washington, called on the United States to pressure Israel to uphold the cease-fire, while former Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi described the situation as "very dangerous."

On Friday afternoon, an Israeli drone strike killed a man, Hassan Rahhal, while he was in a car in Khirbet Silm, in the Bint Jbeil district, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

The attack also injured several others, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The same day, a U.N. special rapporteur told AFP that Israel’s deadly strikes on vehicles in Lebanon since the cease-fire could constitute "war crimes."

"Unless there is compelling evidence that these civilian objects have dual [military] purposes ... the strikes are illegal," said Morris Tidball-Binz, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. 'The killings resulting from these attacks ... are, in my opinion, tantamount to war crimes," he added.

The Israeli army also carried out a series of operations in southern Lebanon.

In the early evening, Israeli gunfire targeted residents harvesting olives in Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil, despite the presence of both the Lebanese Army and a patrol from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Similar fire was reported from the Israeli position at Metula toward Lebanese harvesting olives in the Dhour neighborhood of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district), with no injuries.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army destroyed a small Israeli drone that had crashed in the "Kilo 9" area of Aitaroun.

Earlier in the afternoon, a small Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the village of Blida in Marjayoun, causing no injuries, and Israeli sweeping operations were conducted around the same village and the Bastra farm area in Shebaa (Hasbaya).

At dawn, an Israeli patrol entered Lebanese territory on the southeastern outskirts of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil) and blew up a house.

Jaber calls on Washington to 'force' Israel to respect cease-fire

From Washington, Jaber stressed that the United States must "support Lebanon's position by forcing Israel to respect the cease-fire and end its ongoing violations of Lebanese sovereignty."

At a White House meeting with Middle East officials, he recalled that "Lebanon has fully complied since the cease-fire was announced with the provisions of Resolution 1701 and all resulting obligations."

He added that "the Lebanese Army is effectively deployed, but that respect for the cease-fire by the other party is essential," and that "ongoing Israeli violations are hindering the work and full deployment of the army in the region."

For his part, Mawlawi described the situation in southern Lebanon as "very dangerous."

Mawlawi emphasized that the Lebanese state has decided to maintain a monopoly on arms, and that there would be "no going back" on this principle.

He also noted that the decision to reserve arms for the state was announced in President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural address as well as in the ministerial statement of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government.

Mawlawi added that the Lebanese Army is "fully performing its role in this regard, working to ensure that weapons remain under the control of Lebanese legitimacy."

Salam visited the Baabda Presidential Palace, then Ain al-Tineh on Friday morning to meet with Aoun and then Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, following the massive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon the previous day.

On Thursday night, the Israeli army carried out a series of massive strikes in southern Lebanon, claiming to target "infrastructure linked to Hezbollah" and the association Green Without Borders, despite a truce that has been in place for nearly a year.

The barrage followed other strikes throughout the afternoon and, according to the Health Ministry, killed one person and injured seven.

In response to this escalation, Iran on Friday condemned Israel's violation of the cease-fire.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei declared that these air raids represented a "blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a statement from his Ministry.

Baghaei accused France and the United States, as guarantors of the cease-fire, of "continuing to remain passive" toward Israel in the face of what he called "repeated violations" of the agreement.