Israel bombs south, kills one as Hezbollah pauses operations for Eid

Relative calm prevailed in southern Lebanon on Sunday and Monday as Hezbollah appeared to pause its cross-border attacks on Israel for the Eid al-Adha holiday.

On Monday, an Israeli airstrike hit a car on the outskirts of Shehabiyeh in the Tyre district, resulting in the death of Mohammad Mustafa Ayoub, as reported by the National News Agency.

Earlier that day, Israeli forces fired machine guns at residents of Dhayra, a border town, as they inspected their properties and visited a cemetery.

Additionally, an Israeli aircraft launched two missiles at Mays al-Jabal, a border town, while artillery shelling targeted the border towns of Khiam, Kfar Hamam, Rashaya al-Fukhar, and Kfarkela, along with the Marjeyoun plain.

On Sunday, several border towns were subjected to a few airstrikes and intermittent artillery shelling.

This period of relative calm follows several days of intense escalation after Israel assassinated senior Hezbollah military commander Taleb Abdallah, the highest-ranking commander killed since the confrontations began on October 8.

Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, have engaged in near-daily cross-border fire since the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group on Israel, which ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

The ongoing cross-border violence has resulted in the deaths of at least 471 people in Lebanon, most of whom were fighters, along with 91 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities report that at least 15 Israeli soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.