One killed, another wounded in Israeli drone strike on Jwayya

One person was killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike that targeted Wednesday a car in south Lebanon, hours after a meeting of the committee monitoring a year-long ceasefire.

Israel has intensified its strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon in recent days, saying it has struck targets from both the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group and its Palestinian ally Hamas.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a Hezbollah operative in Jwayya.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel's army has carried out frequent strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is bombing sites and operatives belonging to the militant group, and occasionally Hamas.

In a statement Tuesday, President Joseph Aoun said that "Israel's continued attacks aim to thwart all efforts made locally, regionally and internationally to stop the ongoing Israeli escalation, despite the response shown by Lebanon to these efforts at various levels".

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix was meanwhile visiting Lebanon, where he met with Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

On Thursday, Lebanon's cabinet will convene to discuss the army's progress in disarming Hezbollah, a plan launched under heavy U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday called the disarmament efforts far from sufficient.