Lebanon has claimed an Israeli drone strike killed five people, including four U.S. citizens. Reports stated the strike, which occurred in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, killed three children. Claims that U.S. citizens were among the deceased are being disputed. According to CNN, Israel’s military said it “struck and eliminated” a Hezbollah operator but acknowledged that “several uninvolved civilians” were also killed in the strike. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible. The incident is under review,” the IDF said in a statement, according to the outlet. 4 U.S. citizens were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon today. pic.twitter.com/DwSxkWsDeK — Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 22, 2025 More from CNN: Lebanon’s Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, claimed in a statement Sunday that four US citizens – a father and three of his children – were among those killed. Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji said the mother of the American family was injured and in critical condition. However, a US State Department spokesperson disputed the claim. “While the situation is fluid, so far, indications are that the five killed were not US citizens,” they told CNN. Lebanese state-run NNA news reported that a drone had fired two missiles at a motorcycle and a Mercedes car. In the car, the father and his children were killed. The motorcyclist, the apparent target of the strike, was also killed. “Lebanese officials initially said the family held U.S. citizenship. The U.S. State Department has now clarified the 5 killed were not American citizens, though one had an unused immigrant visa petition in the past,” Mario Nawfal wrote. “The IDF said the strike targeted a Hezbollah operative but admitted civilians were killed. Lebanon’s PM called it a massacre, while UNICEF expressed outrage,” he added. CORRECTION: VICTIMS OF LEBANON STRIKE WERE NOT U.S. CITIZENS An Israeli drone strike on the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil killed a father and his 3 children, leaving the mother wounded. Lebanese officials initially said the family held U.S. citizenship. The U.S.… https://t.co/6wA21hfRxh pic.twitter.com/TiBJAmM4JB — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 22, 2025 “The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and will continue to act to remove any threat posed to the state of Israel,” the IDF said in its statement. Sky News noted: Pictures from the scene in Bint Jbeil showed a destroyed Mercedes. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who earlier landed in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, condemned the strike and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop. Mr Aoun, alongside the country’s prime minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah. “There is no peace above the blood of our children,” Mr Aoun said in a statement from his office. Mr Salam called the attack a “message of intimidation targeting our people returning to their villages in the south”. The war between Hezbollah and Israel killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced residents across southern and eastern areas of the country. Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were supposed to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other.