Casualties as Israel conducts strike in central Lebanon

By Naim Berjawi

BEIRUT (AA) - Israel struck the coastal area of Wadi al-Zeina in central Lebanon on Saturday, causing casualties, Anadolu has learned.

Witnesses said an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle in the Wadi al-Zeina area, Chouf district. More details and reactions were not immediately available.

This is the second time that Lebanon has seen bombing deep into its territory since the outbreak of confrontation between Hezbollah and the Israeli army last October.

In early January, a raid targeted a meeting of Hamas leaders in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, which led to the killing of Saleh Al-Arouri, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau.

The exchange of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah in border regions areas has increased in recent days. This comes in conjunction with Israeli threats to launch a ground attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The tensions come amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which began after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. The onslaught has since killed nearly 28,000 people, mostly women and children.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara