UPDATE 2 - 2 killed, another injured in Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon

UPDATES WITH FATALITY; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE, DECK

By Mohammad Sio and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Two people were killed and another was injured when Israeli drone strikes targeted two motorcycles in a southern Lebanese town on Friday, according to official media.

The first attack occurred in Kounine in Bint Jbeil District, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it killed Ibrahim Muhammad Raslan, a Hezbollah maintenance officer, in the Kounine area in southern Lebanon.

Regarding the second strike, the agency said one person was killed in an Israeli air raid that targeted a motorcycle on the Nabatieh–Shoukin road in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh province.

The agency said Thursday that three people were injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting the border town of Shebaa and the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army has killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and turned into a full-scale offensive in September 2024.

A ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was reached in November 2024. The Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon this January, but it only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.