Israel claims Lebanese soldier killed in strike was also Hezbollah member

The Israeli army on Tuesday claimed that a Lebanese soldier killed in a drone strike on a car in the Sidon district was also a Hezbollah operative.

It claimed the strike killed three Hezbollah members in total, “including one who served concurrently in the Lebanese Army's intelligence unit and another who was working with an air defense unit (belonging to Hezbollah) in the Sidon area.”

The Lebanese Army meanwhile categorically denied the Israeli claim, describing it as “erroneous and misleading information” aimed at “questioning the army’s creed and the performance of its members.”

The army also called for dismissing the reports that “question the army’s role in this critical and extraordinary period.”

A Lebanese army official had earlier told AFP it was "not true" that the soldier was a Hezbollah member, calling Israel's claim "a pretext" to justify the attack.

The Israeli army alleged that the three men “were planning attacks” against Israeli forces and were also “attempting to rebuild (Hezbollah) military infrastructure in the Sidon area of ​​southern Lebanon.”

The Israeli army added that it “views the cooperation between the Lebanese Army and … Hezbollah with utmost seriousness and will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”

The Lebanese Army meanwhile issued a statement saying that the slain man was a first sergeant who served in the anti-armor regiment of the army’s Support Brigade.

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Monday's strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone around 10 kilometers from the southern coastal city of Sidon.

Under heavy U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.

The Lebanese Army plans to complete the task south of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel -- by year's end.

The latest strike came after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives on Friday took part in a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a second time, after holding their first direct talks in decades earlier this month, also under the committee's auspices.

President Joseph Aoun said Monday that the goal of the negotiations was to "stop the hostilities, achieve Israel's withdrawal, return prisoners held in Israel and return southern residents to their villages."

Israel has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.

More than 340 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.

On Sunday, Israeli strikes in south Lebanon near the border killed one person and wounded another, as Israel also said it targeted Hezbollah members.