2 killed in Israeli strike on van in Bekaa

Two people were killed Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on a van in the Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali area in the Bekaa.

An Israeli drone strike had overnight targeted a car in the southern town of Jannata, wounding one person, with Israel claiming that it struck a Hezbollah member.

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.

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.

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.

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.