Hezbollah says targeted troops in north Israel with drone
Hezbollah said on Thursday that it targeted Israeli troops in northern Israel with a drone, as Lebanon and Israel were holding a new round of direct talks in Washington.
In a statement, the group said it "targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy army soldiers at the Rosh HaNikra site" near the border with Lebanon with a drone.
The Israeli military had earlier said that "several Israeli civilians were injured and evacuated to receive medical treatment" after "an explosive drone that was launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization fell within Israeli territory, near the Israel-Lebanon border".
The Galilee Medical Center said four people were wounded "following an explosive drone strike in the parking area of the Rosh HaNikra site".
One of them is in critical condition, the hospital added.
The attack comes as Lebanon and Israel, officially at war for decades, are holding fresh talks in Washington, the third in a month.
Representatives from the two countries last met on April 23 at the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension of a truce in the Israel-Hezbollah war and voiced optimism for a groundbreaking agreement between the countries.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded blows despite the truce technically in place since April 17, which is set to end on Sunday if a deal is not reached.
The Iran-backed group strongly rejects direct talks, with Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar saying on Thursday they amounted to "free concessions" to Israel.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on the south and east on Thursday, including on areas not mentioned in an earlier Israeli evacuation warning.
The Israeli army said it had "struck more than 65 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in several areas in southern Lebanon" over the past 24 hours.
Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 2,800 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.
The Israeli military lost 18 troops and a civilian contractor since the war began.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://prod.naharnet.com/stories/en/320160 |