Israeli strike in Lebanon kills four, targets Islamic Jihad

An Israeli strike on Sunday near the Syrian border in Lebanon killed four people, as Israel said it had targeted operatives from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.Lebanon’s state-run media reported that the strike targeting a car in the town of Majdal Anjar killed four people. It appeared to be the first strike Israel has claimed in Lebanon against Islamic Jihad, which is also allied with Hezbollah, since the truce.
Islamic Jihad — which has a significant presence in both Lebanon and Syria — carried out the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught alongside Hamas from the Gaza Strip, and was involved in numerous attacks on Israel from Lebanon alongside Hezbollah. According to IDF assessments, some 2,400 members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force and another 500 Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists — trained by Radwan — had been waiting in southern Lebanon villages to attack Israel in the days after Hamas carried out its October 7, 2023, mass invasion from Gaza.
Israel has consistently targeted what it says are Hezbollah attempts to rebuild following a November 2024 ceasefire that ended a year of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.  This appeared to be the first strike Israel has claimed in Lebanon against Islamic Jihad since the truce’s onset.
In line with the 2024 truce, the Lebanese army announced in January that it had completed the first phase of a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area near the Israeli border. As part of the Lebanese government's push to disarm non-state groups, some Palestinian factions in Lebanon handed over weapons in several refugee camps last year to the Lebanese authorities. Hamas and its Islamic Jihad ally have not announced plans to disarm in Lebanon.