Israel Says it Targeted Hezbollah Sites in Lebanon, 2 Dead

People stand amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israel's ground and air offensive after returning to the southern Lebanese village of Aita al Shaab as on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
People stand amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israel's ground and air offensive after returning to the southern Lebanese village of Aita al Shaab as on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Israel Says it Targeted Hezbollah Sites in Lebanon, 2 Dead

People stand amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israel's ground and air offensive after returning to the southern Lebanese village of Aita al Shaab as on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
People stand amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israel's ground and air offensive after returning to the southern Lebanese village of Aita al Shaab as on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

The Israeli military said on Friday it struck several Hezbollah targets overnight in the Bekaa Valley and along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The army said the targets include a facility used for underground weapons development and another associated with the smuggling of arms into Lebanon.

Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in an Israeli strike on an unofficial border crossing in eastern Lebanon early Friday morning, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

Lebanon’s state news agency said Israel launched four strikes on the Janta border crossing in the eastern province of Baalbeck, while two other strikes targeted two illegal Syria-Lebanon border crossings in northern Lebanon late Thursday and early Friday.

On Thursday, Israel said it intercepted a surveillance drone launched by Hezbollah calling it "a breach of the ceasefire agreement" between Israel and Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in late November, ending a deadly conflict that began with the Gaza war in 2023. The US confirmed on Sunday that the agreement, which includes a 60-day period for Israeli troop withdrawal, will remain in effect until Feb. 18, extending the original Jan. 26 deadline.

Israel has carried out multiple strikes on Lebanese territory since the ceasefire extension, killing and injuring more than 100 people.

In a statement, Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Moussawi called Friday's strikes a very dangerous violation and a blatant and explicit aggression,” adding that “the Lebanese state, represented by the presidency, the government and the army, is required to take immediate action.”



Israel Continues Deductions from PA Funds Despite Abbas’ Decree

Israeli forces during a military operation in Nablus, West Bank, on Tuesday. (AP)
Israeli forces during a military operation in Nablus, West Bank, on Tuesday. (AP)
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Israel Continues Deductions from PA Funds Despite Abbas’ Decree

Israeli forces during a military operation in Nablus, West Bank, on Tuesday. (AP)
Israeli forces during a military operation in Nablus, West Bank, on Tuesday. (AP)

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz took another step against the Palestinian Authority (PA), ordering the seizure of funds it pays to Palestinian prisoners held in Israel or those holding Israeli citizenship.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said the sanctions, imposed by Katz, are part of an economic crackdown by the security establishment against what it called “terrorist organizations.”

“The terror funds ordered to be seized by the defense minister were paid by the PA to terrorists serving prison sentences in Israel and to released prisoners,” according to a statement by the ministry.

Israel’s Maariv daily reported that the funds seized by Katz were paid by the PA to prisoners serving sentences in Israeli jails, released detainees, and their families.

The decision applies to “all residents of Jerusalem and Israeli citizens (Arab Israelis),” according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Katz’s move comes despite a decree last month by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceling legal provisions related to financial stipends for prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded.

The decree also transferred the digital database and financial allocations for the payments from the PA to a non-governmental organization.

Abbas issued the order after years of resisting US and Israeli pressure to halt PA payments to militants and detainees.

Israel began deducting funds from the PA’s tax revenues in 2018 to offset these payments, which Israeli officials call “pay-for-slay,” referring to stipends given to the families of prisoners and those killed in conflict.

The issue remains a source of ongoing tension.

In a bid to ease tensions, the PA years ago integrated released prisoners into government ministries, agencies, and security forces, placing many on early retirement. However, the move failed to satisfy Israel.

When US President Donald Trump took office in 2017, Abbas sought to resolve the crisis his own way, issuing a decree that sparked widespread controversy and domestic backlash.

The PA provides monthly stipends starting at 2,000 Israeli shekels ($550) for released prisoners, with payments increasing based on the length of their incarceration.

Current detainees receive at least 4,000 shekels ($1,100), with payments reaching 8,000 or 12,000 shekels for those who have served more than 20 or 30 years—though such cases are rare.

Last week, Israel seized $90 million from the PA’s tax revenues, known as “clearance funds,” redirecting the money to Israeli families of individuals killed in Palestinian attacks.

The latest Israeli measures follow Abbas’ decree and are part of Israel’s ongoing policy of deducting PA funds over the prisoner payment issue.