BEIRUT (AP) 鈥 An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed five people Sunday, including three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed, the three children as well as their father, held U.S. citizenship.
Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment.
Since a ceasefire agreement was reached in November to end Israel’s monthslong war with the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has continued to strike southern and eastern Lebanon almost daily.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant, and that he 鈥渙perated from within a civilian population.鈥 It acknowledged that civilians were killed and that it was reviewing the incident.
鈥淭he IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and will continue to act to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel,鈥 the statement said.
Israel frequently says it is targeting Hezbollah militants or infrastructure in the tiny country鈥檚 battered southern region. Hezbollah has only claimed firing across the border once since the ceasefire, but Israel says the militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities.
Lebanese officials have warned that the ongoing strikes risk the country’s recent efforts to disarm the group and could destabilize the country. Hezbollah has maintained that it no longer has a military presence south of the Litani River, and has refused to speak of disarmament without Israel stopping its attacks and withdrawing from southern Lebanese territory.
President Joseph Aoun, who earlier landed in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, condemned the strike and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop. Aoun, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah.
鈥淭here is no peace above the blood of our children,鈥 said Aoun in a statement from his office.
The monthslong war between Hezbollah and Israel and displaced residents across .
Prime Minister Salam called the attack a 鈥渕essage of intimidation targeting our people returning to their villages in the south.鈥
Hezbollah officials say the ongoing strikes justify their refusal to give up their arms, and claim that the ceasefire agreement and monitoring mechanism with the United States, France, and United Nations peacekeeping forces is ineffective.
鈥淭hey have proven once again that resorting to official protection under international auspices has not provided them with security and stability,鈥 said Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah.
Under the , both the militant Hezbollah group and Israel were supposed to their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other. Israeli forces have continue to occupy five Lebanese hilltop points by the border.
