Lebanon army says Israeli drone hits post in east, wounding soldier

This picture taken from northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Khiam during Israeli bombardment, on December 2, 2024, days into a fragile ceasefire between it and the Iran-backed Islamist group. (AFP)

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said an Israeli drone strike wounded one of its soldiers in the eastern region of Hermel on Monday, the latest such raid since an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire last week.
“An enemy drone struck an army bulldozer at a position, injuring one soldier,” the army said, five days after a ceasefire ended more than a year of war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group.
The ceasefire deal, which was intended to end the more than year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, went into effect early on Wednesday.
The deal has reduced the level of fighting, but Israel has launched multiple strikes against targets it says were violating the truce.
As part of the terms of the agreement, the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.