IDF says it struck Hezbollah arms convoy in Lebanon; Beirut reports 14 wounded

Lebanon PM condemns strike, also says Israel freed 9 Lebanese POWs and calls for release of 9 more; IDF again warns displaced southern Lebanese against returning after deadly riots

Rescuers rush to the site of an airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, January 28, 2025. (Abbas Fakih / AFP)
Rescuers rush to the site of an airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, January 28, 2025. (Abbas Fakih / AFP)

The IDF said it targeted a truck and other Hezbollah vehicles used to transfer weapons on Tuesday in southern Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement. Lebanon’s health ministry reported fourteen people wounded in the airstrike.

“The truck and vehicles were struck after being monitored by the IDF while transferring the weapons,” the military added.

The strike came as the IDF again warned Lebanese civilians against returning to villages in southern Lebanon, where Israel has said it would remain until February 18. Israel had been due to withdraw by January 26, but said it could not do so as the Lebanese army had not yet deployed in those areas.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that at around 7:30 p.m., “a strike with a guided missile targeting a small vegetable truck” in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which lies north of the Litani River but just 10 kilometers (seven miles) from the Israeli border.

Under the deal, Hezbollah must pullback north of the Litani — some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Israel — while Israel is entitled to strike threats it considers imminent, and forward less imminent threats to a monitoring committee comprising representatives of Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and UNIFIL.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati assailed the strike on Nabatieh al-Fawqa. During a phone call with US General Jasper Jeffers, who chairs the monitoring committee, Mikati urged a firm stance to guarantee Israel implements its commitments, according to a statement from the premier’s office.

Mikati also said Tuesday that Israel had freed nine Lebanese prisoners of war, whose identities and affiliations were unclear, under the terms of the six-week-old ceasefire deal. He called on Israel to free nine more prisoners, and thanked the Red Cross, which welcomed the release. Israel has yet to comment on the statement.

Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivers a statement to the press in Beirut, Lebanon, on November 27, 2024. (Fadel Itani / AFP)

Mikati had already appealed to the United States on Sunday to use its influence with Israel to secure the release of Lebanese detained by Israel during the war.

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP on Monday that seven of the terror group’s operatives had been captured in the fighting.

IDF troops also detained some Lebanese on Sunday — Israel’s original deadline for withdrawal — amid deadly protests as displaced residents tried to return to southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s health ministry has said 24 people were killed and over 130 wounded by IDF gunfire in demonstrations on Sunday, and another two were killed and 17 wounded in demonstrations again on Monday.

The military has issued warnings to the displaced residents not to return, and accused Hezbollah of “provocations” in the protests, where returning residents were seen hoisting the Iran-backed terror group’s insignia. In an interview Monday, a leading Christian Lebanese politician accused Hezbollah of sending displaced residents to a “certain death” by pushing them to return.

On Tuesday, Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, again cautioned displaced southern Lebanese to stay away as Israeli troops in the area work to “enable the effective deployment of the Lebanese army, and dismantle and remove the Hezbollah terror group.”

“I remind you that the agreement period has been extended and IDF forces are still deployed on the ground. The deployment process is taking place gradually and in some sectors, it is being postponed and requires more time to ensure that Hezbollah cannot re-establish its strength there,” he said.

Lebanese soldiers standing on a vehicle accompanying returning residents, in the southern Lebanese village of Mays al-Jabal January 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

“Hezbollah, as usual, puts its narrow interests above the interests of the Lebanese state and tries through its mouthpieces to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the destruction of the south,” he added.

The IDF spokesman said that “until further notice, all previously published instructions remain in effect,” and the military will update when it is safe to return to the border villages.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported in December, days after the ceasefire began, that some 1.3 million Lebanese had been displaced in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Hezbollah’s near-daily attacks on Israeli border towns forced the displacement of some 60,000 northern Israelis.

Unprovoked, Hezbollah began firing at the north on October 8, 2023 — a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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