Israeli strike kills alleged Hezbollah financier in south Lebanon
The Israeli army says it has killed the head of a currency exchange store who operated with Hezbollah to funnel funds to the group.
The targeted strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon came amid an intensified wave of Israeli attacks north of the Litani river in what appears to be a widening campaign against Hezbollah infrastructure.
The militant group said Haytham Abdullah Bakr and his two sons, who were in the car struck when it was in the southern village of Kfardjal on Tuesday, were members.
'The IDF eliminated the head of the 'Al Sadiq' currency exchange,' the Israeli army statement said, describing the company as 'a funds storage and transfer mechanism' for Hezbollah from the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It said the assassination was 'a severe blow to the Iranian financing routes to Hezbollah'.
The attack was the latest in a series of near-daily breaches by Israel of a US-brokered ceasefire between it and Hezbollah that ended 14 months of fighting in November.
Israeli air strikes on Monday targeted several towns north of the Litani, including Zrariyeh, Kfar Melki, Mahmoudiyah, Al Hatta, Ansar, Al Bisariya and Al Wardiya, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. The attacks caused fires but no casualties.
Hezbollah has largely withdrawn its forces from south of the Litani, in line with the US-brokered ceasefire, Lebanese authorities have told The National.
The agreement requires the Lebanese state to disarm and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure and military positions 'starting with the southern Litani area' within 60 days – but it did not set a timeline for dismantling the group's positions north of the river, which runs roughly parallel to the southern border with Israel, about 30km away.
Despite the truce, Israel continues to bomb south Lebanon daily and to occupy five points of Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah, politically and militarily constrained after significant losses in its war with Israel, has shown no indication that it intends to retaliate.
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