Locals and first responders are seen at the site on an Israeli strike that targeted a car near the southern Lebanese village of Quneitra on Dec. 22, 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
SOUTH LEBANON — The Israeli army killed three people in a drone strike on a car as it was driving between Quneitra and Aqtanit in Saida district on Monday.
The victims were identified as Hassan Issa, Ali Abdallah, and Moustafa Ballout. One of the victims, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South, is believed to have been a Lebanese Army soldier. A map belonging to the Lebanese Army was found at the site of the strike.
A Lebanese Army spokesperson told L'Orient Today that it was in the process of verifying whether one of its soldiers is among the victims.
The Israeli army released a statement on X claiming that it had attacked "several Hezbollah terrorist elements in the Saida area."
This attack was preceded by several others earlier on Monday. The Israeli army fired five artillery shells at the outskirts of the border village of Labbouneh, just east of Naqoura, in Sour district.
The Israeli army also launched several stun grenades across the South overnight and into Monday morning, first in Bint Jbeil district on the village of Maroun al-Ras and then in Sour district near Alma al-Shaab.
Sources close to Hezbollah told the Saudi channel al-Arabiya, known for its opposition to the party, that it no longer had any military presence south of the Litani River. The Lebanese Army has been working to disarm Hezbollah in this area and dismantle its military infrastructure since September, when Cabinet approved a plan drawn up by the army at the government's request a month earlier.
The Lebanese Army's plan set the end of the year as the end-date for the first phase of Hezbollah's disarmament, pertaining to south of the Litani. Israel has threatened to reopen a full scale war against Lebanon if this phase is not completed on time. However ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation in the South have hinder the Lebanese Army's work.
Israel announced that in its Sunday attacks on Bint Jbeil district, it had killed a member of Hezbollah involved in "reconstructing military infrastructure" in southern Lebanon, although it did not provide any evidence to back up its claim.
The man killed, Ali al-Hage Kamel Kourani, "was preparing to rebuild Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area," activities that "constituted a violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon," according to the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson.
He also claimed that forces from the 91st division had killed four "saboteurs" in southern Lebanon over the past week, though he did not provide any further details.
Additional reporting contributed by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.
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