By Naim Berjawi
BEIRUT (AA) – Three Hezbollah fighters were killed during clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese group said on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 200 since Oct. 8, 2023.
In separate statements, Hezbollah mourned the fighters, all from southern Lebanon.
Border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel escalated following the killing of seven civilians in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, prompting the Lebanese government to announce its intention to file an “urgent complaint” against Israel to the UN Security Council.
Tensions have escalated on both sides of the Blue Line, against the backdrop of a destructive war waged by Israel on Gaza since Oct. 7, which has left 28,663 deaths and 68,395 injuries, most of them children and women, in addition to thousands missing under the rubble, according to Palestinian authorities.
For the first time since its establishment in 1948, Israel is being tried before the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body in the United Nations, on charges of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala