Israel says it struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites in Syria, testing a fragile ceasefire

Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites along Syria’s border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said Saturday, testing a fragile, days-old ceasefire that halted months of fighting between the sides but has seen continued sporadic fire.

The military said it struck sites that had been used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect, which the military said was a violation of its terms. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or activists monitoring the conflict in that country. Hezbollah also did not immediately comment. Israeli aircraft have struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, citing ceasefire violations, several times since the truce began on Wednesday.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah does not address the war in Gaza, where fighting rages on. On Saturday, an Israeli strike on a car killed five people, according to a senior Palestinian health official who said the toll included three employees of the food charity World Central Kitchen. The charity could not immediately be reached for comment and made no mention of the incident on its social media.

The Israeli military said it struck a vehicle carrying a militant involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. It said it was looking into the reported ties to WCK, but said the car was unmarked and had not coordinated aid delivery with the military as charities have done during the war.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.