An apartment building in Nabatieh was hit during the airstrikes, resulting in the death of one woman and 11 injuries. The strike also caused significant damage, knocking out the top floor of the building. It remains unclear if the strike was specifically aimed at individuals inside the building
A loader removes debris from the site of an Israeli strike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Friday. PIC/AFP
The Israeli air force launched intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Friday, news agency AP reported. Its military described the action has been taken to strike the underground assets of the militant Hezbollah group.
An apartment building in Nabatieh was hit during the airstrikes, resulting in the death of one woman and 11 injuries. The strike also caused significant damage, knocking out the top floor of the building, AP reported, quoting Lebanon's state news agency.
It remains unclear if the strike was specifically aimed at individuals inside the building.
Since the ceasefire brokered by the United States brought an end to the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday's airstrikes, however, were described as unusually intense.
"We are steadfast no matter how much you bomb us with your fighter jets and drones," Hassan Ghandour, a Shiite cleric from Nabatieh, told The Associated Press at the scene of the attack.
Lebanon's President and Prime Minister condemned the Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, calling them a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The airstrikes on the mountains overlooking Nabatieh were carried out in two waves, with bunker-buster bombs reportedly used, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. The agency also stated that four people were lightly wounded in the airstrikes outside the city.
The Israeli military confirmed that its fighter jets had targeted a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defence systems in the area, which was part of a major underground operation. The Israeli army claimed that it had identified attempts by Hezbollah to rehabilitate the site prior to the strike, and that the attack had completely neutralised the infrastructure.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah regarding the strikes.
The Hezbollah militant group suffered heavy losses during the war, which claimed the lives of over 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused around $11 billion worth of damage. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in southern Lebanon, with a ban on having an armed presence south of the Litani River. Friday's airstrikes, however, took place north of the river.
(With AP inputs)
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