By Wassim Seif El Din
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) - Five people were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Maifadoun in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
A ministry statement said that efforts were underway to search for survivors after the attack that targeted a house in the town.
Separately, two people were also injured in Israeli artillery shelling in the border towns of Khiyam and Wazzani, the ministry said.
Tension has escalated between Hezbollah and Israel since Tel Aviv assassinated senior military commander Fouad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb on July 30.
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was also assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran the following day. Iran and Hamas accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, while Tel Aviv has not yet confirmed or denied its responsibility.
Fears have grown over a full-blown war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.
The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed over 39,600 people since last October following an attack by Hamas.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar