“Israel” army says launched “special operations” in southern Lebanon

“Israel's” military said Wednesday that it had launched targeted operations in southern Lebanon to dismantle infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

"Following intelligence information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon, the soldiers launched special, targeted operations to dismantle them and prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing itself in the area," an army statement said.

Since the November ceasefire, the “Israeli” military remains in what it says are five strategic positions inside the Lebanese border. Ground operations of this type have been rare.

The army shared a video captioned "footage from a targeted nighttime operation of the 9th Brigade in southern Lebanon", showing troops walking on the ground.

The army statement said the 9th Brigade was in the Labbouneh area, just over the border. Troops from the 300th Brigade operated in the Jabal Blat area further west, also within sight of the frontier.

Despite a November truce with Hezbollah, “Israel” has kept up its strikes on Lebanon, mainly saying it is targeting the group's sites and operatives but also occasionally members of Hamas.

The November 27 ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war that left the group severely weakened.

Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the “Israeli” border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region.

“Israel” was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country but has kept them in five places it deems strategic.