Israeli military confirms airstrike at Syria-Lebanon border crossing

The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that it had struck a border crossing between Syria and Lebanon that it said was being used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons.

The air strike hit Hezbollah "infrastructure" at the Jousieh crossing in Lebanon's northern Bekaa area overnight, the Israeli military said in a statement.

It said Hezbollah "exploits the Jousieh civilian crossing, which is under the control of the Syrian regime and is operated by Syrian military security, to transfer weapons".

It added that the weapons are transferred from Syria to Lebanon by Hezbollah's 4400 Unit, which it said was responsible for the transportation of arms.

Lebanon's transport minister, Ali Hamieh, had earlier told AFP in Beirut that an Israeli strike had put the crossing "out of service".

The crossing, known as Qaa on the Lebanese side, is the second such gateway hit by the Israeli military this month.

It previously struck the Masnaa crossing further south, leaving it inoperable.

Israel says the raids are aimed at preventing the flow of weapons into Lebanon to the Iran-backed Hezbollah from neighbouring Syria.