Israeli strikes hit north Lebanon crossings with Syria moments after ceasefire announcement

Israeli strikes late on Tuesday targeted Lebanon's three northern border crossings with Syria for the first time, Lebanon's transport minister Ali Hamieh told Reuters.

The strikes came moments after US President Joe Biden announced that a ceasefire would come into effect at 4am local time (2am GMT) on Wednesday to halt hostilities between Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel.

Hamieh said it was not immediately clear whether the roads had been cut off as a result of the strikes. Israeli raids on Lebanon's eastern crossings in recent weeks had already sealed off those routes into Syria.

Syria's state news agency reported four civilians and two soldiers were killed, and 12 people were wounded including children, women and workers in the Syrian Red Crescent.

The Red Crescent said earlier a volunteer was killed and another was injured in "the aggression that targeted Al-Dabousyeh and Al-Arida crossings ... as they were performing their humanitarian duty of rescuing the wounded early on Wednesday."

The strike damaged several ambulances and work points, it added in a statement.

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