Lebanon army: 1 soldier killed, 18 hurt in IDF strike; Lebanese PM: ‘Direct, bloody message’ from Israel on ceasefire efforts

At least one soldier was killed and 18 others injured, some seriously, after an Israeli strike on an army center in the town of Al-Amiriya on the Al-Qalila-Tyre road in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army says.

The attack caused severe damage to the facility, the army adds in a post on X.

The Israeli military says the incident is being checked. The IDF has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against the Hezbollah terror group.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says in a statement that Israel sent “a direct and bloody message rejecting all efforts to reach a ceasefire, to bolster the Lebanese army’s presence in the south, and to implement UN resolution 1701.”

“This aggression is a matter for the international community, which is silent about what is happening to Lebanon,” Mikati adds in the statement.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon. The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL observers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.

Hezbollah began attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023. Today has seen widespread rocket fire across northern and central Israel.