Alleged Israeli Strike in Southern Lebanon Kills One Person

By Yoni Weiss

An alleged Israeli airstrike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon on Monday struck near the entrance of a hospital, killing at least one person and injuring several civilians who were gathered outside, according to local health officials.

The strike killed the motorcycle driver in the town of Bint Jbeil. The identity of the driver was not immediately clear.

The IDF did not immediately release a statement regarding the strike but indicated that it had targeted various areas in southern Lebanon in response to “terrorist launches.”

Since Oct. 8, the Hezbollah terror group has been exchanging strikes with Israeli forces in the border area, coinciding with the escalation of the war in Gaza.

Mohammed Suleiman, director of the Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bint Jbeil, reported that the hospital received one fatality and nine wounded individuals from the strike, most of whom were “civilians who were in front of the hospital, where family members and people accompanying the patients usually gather.”

Two of the injured were in critical condition, he said. The strike also caused minor damage to the hospital, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene.

Western countries, particularly the U.S. and France, have proposed various plans for ceasing hostilities on the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah has refused to enter into an agreement until a ceasefire is implemented in Gaza.

Initially, the proposals required Hezbollah to move its forces several miles away from the border. However, a French diplomatic official disclosed that the latest proposal has abandoned this requirement, as Hezbollah would not agree unless Israel also halted its overflights in Lebanese airspace.

The new proposal instead relies on a strengthened presence of the official Lebanese army and UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon to enforce the cessation of hostilities, with long-term negotiations aimed at demarcating the land border between Lebanon and Israel.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected to arrive in Beirut for a diplomatic visit on Tuesday.