Israel stages fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon amid tension with Hezbollah

By Stephanie Rady

BEIRUT (AA) – Israeli warplanes launched fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to local media.

Israeli fighter jets struck a house in the border town of Aitaroun, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The same house was targeted in an airstrike on Saturday.

Another Israeli airstrike was reported in the town of Ayta ash-Shab.

There were no reports yet of casualties or damage.

Separately, the Lebanese group Hezbollah said it struck a gathering of Israeli soldiers with “appropriate weapons” near the town of Wazzani, resulting in direct hits.

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of weapons fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The escalation comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 31,600 victims following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 300 people are estimated to have been killed in Lebanon, including 240 Hezbollah fighters, since the clashes erupted last October. Nearly 20 Israelis have been killed, according to Israeli figures.

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* Writing by Ikram Kouachi