Beirut, September 22 (HS): At least five people, including three children, were killed in an Israeli drone strike on Sunday in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. The attack, which targeted a motorcycle and a vehicle, also left two others injured.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that among the victims were a father and his three children, while the mother sustained injuries. The family members were U.S. citizens.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strike killed a Hezbollah operative but admitted that “several innocent civilians were also affected.” The army announced a review of the incident and expressed regret over civilian casualties.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam strongly condemned the strike, denouncing it as “an open crime against civilians and a message of intimidation to residents returning to southern villages.”

The incident comes amid continued Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions following a U.S.-brokered agreement last November. Washington, Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals have pressured the group to disarm, but Hezbollah has warned it will not consider such discussions as long as Israeli aerial assaults persist, calling disarmament under current circumstances a “grave mistake.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar