2 Dead in Strike on Car in South Lebanon

This picture taken from a position near the northern Israeli border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in south Lebanon, on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
This picture taken from a position near the northern Israeli border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in south Lebanon, on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
TT

2 Dead in Strike on Car in South Lebanon

This picture taken from a position near the northern Israeli border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in south Lebanon, on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
This picture taken from a position near the northern Israeli border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in south Lebanon, on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Lebanese state-run media said an Israeli strike on a car in the country's south on Thursday killed two people, with Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers saying at least one of them was a group member.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire since Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, now in its eighth month.

"Two people were martyred in the raid that targeted a car on the Ramadiya-Qana road," the official National News agency (NNA) said, after earlier reporting a drone strike.

A rescuer from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health committee said an Israeli strike on a car in Qana had killed two young men, including a member of the Iran-backed movement.

Hezbollah earlier said it had launched "more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in retaliation for overnight strikes that killed a Hezbollah member who Israel said was a field commander.

The strikes were "in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks last night on the Bekaa region" in eastern Lebanon's Baalbek area, it said in a statement.

The Israeli army later said it had identified about "40 launches" from Lebanon towards the Golan Heights that caused no injuries before striking back at the sources of the fire.

According to AFP, it reported several more attacks from Lebanon on northern Israel, to which it had also responded with strikes.

Later, the Israeli military said an explosive drone launched from Lebanon hit the Metula area, severely wounding one soldier and lightly wounding two more.

Hezbollah said it had fired an "attack drone carrying two "S5" rockets" that targeted a vehicle at a position in Metula.



Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
TT

Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister announced that the country has joined the Middle East Green Initiative, launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mitigate the impact of climate change on the region.

“This is an essential step for Lebanon, especially since our southern villages and towns have been exposed to significant environmental and agricultural damage due to Israeli attacks, which requires cooperation with all of Lebanon's friends,” a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying.

Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan welcomed Lebanon’s participation in the initiative, confirming that a high committee has been established to ensure the project’s sustainability and facilitate relevant cooperation.

He noted that the timing of the announcement “comes in light of the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and this matter must be drawn to attention, especially since Israel is destroying very large areas, whether agricultural lands, fruit trees or forests.”

Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said that the Middle East Green Initiative has very important goals to plant 40 billion trees across the region and protect the Gulf and the Middle East from climate change, stop land degradation and desertification and find the means to adapt to future challenges.

The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture estimates that more than 2.8 million square meters of forest and agricultural land were completely burned, while about 6.7 million square meters of agricultural and forest land were partially damaged as a result of Israel’s attacks and its use of internationally-banned incendiary munitions.