ANKARA

A Lebanese journalist was killed Friday in an Israeli drone strike targeting his vehicle in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh district marking another breach of the fragile ceasefire agreement that has been in place since late 2024.

The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed in a statement that "an Israeli drone strike on the al-Zahrani road in the Nabatieh district resulted in the death of one person."

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that civil defense teams recovered the body from the targeted car along the Sidon-Tyre coastal road.

The body was transported to a nearby hospital. The area remains under low-flying Israeli drone surveillance.

NNA identified the victim as Mohammad Shehadeh, a journalist, photojournalist, and director of the media platform Hawana Lebanon.

The attack comes one day after Israeli airstrikes in eastern and southern Lebanon left eight people dead, including a Syrian national, and 12 injured, according to official figures in the deadliest day of escalation in three weeks.

Israel launched military operations in Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.

A ceasefire was reached in November, but Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target activities of the Hezbollah group.

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