Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon leaves 4 dead, 5 injured

By Wassim Saifuldine

BEIRUT (AA) - An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanese has resulted in four Syrian fatalities and five Lebanese injuries, according to Lebanese health officials. The attack targeted a Syrian family's home.

Lebanese Health Ministry reported in a statement that an Israeli airstrike on Thursday in the town of Chama in the Tyre District of southern Lebanon, resulted in four fatalities and five injuries.

The statement said that four of the injured were treated on-site or at nearby hospitals and have since been discharged, while the fifth, a woman, remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The ministry noted that the airstrike caused significant debris and that DNA testing will be used to confirm the final number of casualties.

Earlier in the day, the Lebanese News Agency reported that the Israeli airstrike targeted a house inhabited by a Syrian family in Chama. The agency also noted that the attack resulted in unspecified injuries at the targeted home and a nearby residence.

Hezbollah has not conducted any military operations against Israel since Wednesday, following the assassination of its senior leader, Fouad Shukr, 63, by an Israeli drone in southern Beirut on Tuesday night, according to Anadolu.

However, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah stated in a televised speech during Shukr's funeral earlier Thursday: “Starting tomorrow morning (Friday), Hezbollah will resume its regular military operations against Israel on Friday, unrelated to the response to Shukr's assassination.”

At least seven people, including two children, were killed in the Israeli airstrike on Tuesday, according to Lebanese health authorities.

“We are planning a real and well-calculated response, not merely a symbolic one,” he added.

Tel Aviv blamed Shukr for Saturday’s missile attack that killed 12 people in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in Israel-occupied Golan Heights, although Hezbollah has denied any responsibility.

Israel is bracing for potential retaliation from Hezbollah following Shukr's assassination and is also preparing for possible responses from Iran and Hamas after the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in a missile attack in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning.

Fears have grown of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed nearly 39,500 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Witting by Mohammad Sio