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The temple of Jupiter and the temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon Alamy Stock Photo

Israel receives names of Gaza hostages set for release after striking Lebanon despite ceasefire

The Israeli military said it struck “multiple” Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon.

ISRAEL HAS SAID it received the names of hostages to be freed by Hamas in the fourth exchange of captives of the Gaza ceasefire.

“Israel has received the list of hostages expected to be released from Hamas captivity tomorrow. A detailed response will be provided after reviewing the list and updating the families,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement today.

The names are yet to be released. 

“According to the agreement, these are three male hostages who are alive,” the prime minister’s office said in an earlier statement. 

Palestinian militants have so far freed 15 hostages since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January.

Strikes in Lebanon

Meanwhile, Israel launched air strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon overnight, killing two people, the Lebanese health ministry said, despite a ceasefire being agreed two months ago.

“The strike by the Israeli enemy on Janta killed two people and wounded 10,” the ministry said.

The Israeli military said it struck “multiple” Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa valley, a stronghold of the militant group with which it fought a war last year.

“The targets that were struck include a Hezbollah terrorist site containing underground infrastructure, used to develop and manufacture weaponry and additional terrorist infrastructure sites on the Syrian-Lebanese border used by Hezbollah to smuggle weaponry into Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

The village of Janta area lies close to the Syrian border and the area was already hit by Israeli strikes on 13 January.

The overnight strikes came after the Israeli military said it had intercepted a Hezbollah surveillance drone approaching Israeli airspace on Thursday, in what it called a “breach of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon”.

“The (army) continues to remain committed to the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and will not permit any terrorist activity of this kind,” it said.

The Israeli army failed to abide by a 26 January deadline to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon. The deadline has been extended until 18 February.

Israel had made clear it had no intention of meeting the initial deadline, alleging that the Lebanese army had not fulfilled its side of the bargain.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy in the south as Hezbollah pulls its forces back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres from the border.

The militant group is also required to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

Between 27 November and Monday, Israel killed at least 83 people in Lebanon, according to data from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

With reporting from AFP

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