ISTANBUL

Three people were killed in Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, the Health Ministry said.

One person was killed in a strike on the town of Houla in the Marjayoun district of Nabatieh province, the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, the ministry reported that an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Kfarjouz, also in Nabatieh, killing two people.

The Israeli army, for its part, claimed that the strike hit Hezbollah commander Mohammad Ahmad Khreiss.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Khreiss was Hezbollah’s anti-tank commander in the Shebaa Farms in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target the Hezbollah group’s activities despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon reached last November. The truce ended months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.

The latest attack on Lebanon came after Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran on July 13, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.