By Abderaouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army claimed on Friday that it had carried out airstrikes on targets near border crossings between Syria and Lebanon.
The strikes reportedly aimed at "weapons transfer routes and hostile infrastructure" in areas under the Syrian regime control near the border.
According to the Israeli army, the attack targeted the capabilities of "Unit 4400," an armament unit of Hezbollah accused of transporting weapons intended for attacks against Israeli forces and civilians.
Lebanese state media reported that one of the airstrikes hit the Arida border crossing in the Akkar region, causing infrastructure damage and severing the main road between Lebanon and Syria. The crossing had recently undergone repairs following previous attacks.
Neither Hezbollah nor Syrian officials have commented on the strikes.
According to an Anadolu tally based on reports from Lebanon's official news agency, as of Thursday the Israeli army has violated the cease-fire agreement with Lebanon 141 times since it took effect on Nov. 27.
The deal came into force on Nov. 27 in hopes of ending the 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. It is, however, described as fragile, as countless violations were documented by Lebanon.
Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line de facto border in a phased manner while the Lebanese army deploys its forces in southern Lebanon within 60 days.
Implementation is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.
More than 4,000 people have been killed and over 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, in addition to over 1 million displaced since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi