An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle at the entrances of Siddiqine, in the Sour district of South Lebanon, on Jan. 30, 2025. (Credit: Photo provided by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah)
The Israeli army continued its attacks on Lebanese territory Friday, killing a man in a drone strike that hit his car in Siddiqine, in the Sour district.
The victim, Mohammad Youssef, was described by Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee as "affiliated with Hezbollah," a claim that has not yet been commented on by Hezbollah.
Later on Friday, Hezbollah announced the death of one of its members, Mohamad Assaf, who had been killed earlier in a strike on his car in Siddiqine. The group said Assaf’s funeral will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. in Kafaat, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Meanwhile, Israeli machine-gun fire was reported from the Raheb position toward the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), our correspondent reported.
In the western Khiam (Marjayoun) neighborhood, an Israeli army drone dropped a stun grenade near an area known as “the chalets” Friday morning.
Overnight, Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil), and an Israeli force including a Merkava tank and two military vehicles was seen moving toward an inhabited house, prompting residents to evacuate.
Lebanese Army and UNIFIL joint patrols were dispatched to the area. At midnight, Israeli artillery fired an illumination shell above Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district).
The attacks come as meetings of the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire “mechanism,” which includes Lebanese and Israeli civilian and military representatives, are temporarily suspended.
The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon stated on X that “the military coordination framework, as established in the cease-fire agreement concluded on Nov. 27, 2024, remains fully in effect and operational, with the same objectives, participants and responsibilities.”
According to the embassy, the next mechanism meeting is scheduled in Naqoura on Feb. 25, followed by sessions on March 25, April 22, and May 20. These sessions “will continue to be the main framework for military coordination between the participating parties,” it said.
In this context, Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Rodolph Haykal met Friday with President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Presidential Palace to discuss the security situation in the south and preparations for his upcoming visit to Washington from Feb. 3 to 5, where he is expected to meet with U.S. officials.
General Haykal also met at his office in Yarze with Brigadier General Patrick Gauchat, head of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), focusing on the general situation in Lebanon and the region.
General Gauchat also paid a farewell visit to President Aoun, who thanked him for his efforts and stressed the importance of maintaining U.N. truce observers in Lebanon, in line with the 1948 armistice agreement.
Anger over the continued targeting of journalists by Israel was visible in Saida (South Lebanon), where dozens of media professionals staged a sit-in Friday morning to express their “anger and condemnation,” our correspondent reported.
The rally, held under the slogan “Israel kills journalists,” displayed photos of Sheikh Ali Noureddine, a journalist with Hezbollah’s al-Manar channel, who was killed Monday in an Israeli strike in Hosh (Sour).
According to L’Orient-Le Jour, 14 journalists have been killed in Lebanon since the outbreak of the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
Reporting by our south Lebanon correspondent, Mountasser Abdallah.
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