UPDATES WITH HEADLINE; MORE DETAILS FROM LEBANESE HEALTH MINISTRY; REVISES DECK
By Ikrame Imane Kouachi
JERUSALEM (AA) - At least seven people, including a child, were killed on Friday in Israeli airstrikes targeting four towns in southern Lebanon, according to an official source.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli drone strike on the town of Ayta al-Jabal resulted in the deaths of two people, including a 7-year-old child.
The ministry also reported that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on the town of Tayr Harfa in the Tyre district had risen to three.
In a separate statement, the ministry confirmed that Israeli shelling on the towns of Meis al-Jabal and Aytaroun resulted in two additional fatalities and several injuries.
While the ministry did not specify the nationalities of the deceased, Hezbollah earlier announced on Friday that four of its fighters were killed in clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of its fighters killed to 425 since Oct, 8, 2023.
Separately, the Israeli army reported that several shells were fired from Lebanon, with most of them landing in open areas in Upper Galilee.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon's official news agency reported that "hostile (Israeli) aircraft" carried out the strike early Friday morning in the western sector of the town. Initial reports confirmed two fatalities and one injured person as a result of the attack.
- Night of intense military activity
The airstrike followed a night of intense military activity along the Israeli-Lebanese border, reported the agency, noting that the Israeli army opened heavy machine gun fire toward the town of Ayta al-Shaab in the central sector shortly after midnight.
Early Friday, Israeli forces shelled the outskirts of Naqoura and Jabal Al-Labouna in the western sector. The shelling prompted UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNIFIL) outposts south of the Litani River to sound their alarms as a precautionary measure.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli army claimed that it carried out strikes against Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the Israeli army said that its forces “identified a cell” that was allegedly “planning to launch rockets towards Israel.”
The Israeli army “eliminated the cell in the area of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon,” it added.
The army claimed that following the airstrike, a rocket launch was detected from the same area, suggesting the presence of additional weapons and rockets at the site.
It added that Israeli forces had shelled the Shebaa area in southern Lebanon, but did not provide further details.
There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese Hezbollah group on the Israeli claims.
Separately, Israeli army sources reported that anti-tank rockets launched from Lebanon struck a monitoring base at Mt. Meron (Jabal al-Jarmaq) near the southern Lebanese border.
According to Israeli Army Radio, the base "continues to operate" despite the attack.
Citing unnamed security officials, it said that while three rockets were fired from Lebanon, only one managed to hit the base, with the other two intercepted before reaching their target.
Fears of a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah have grown amid an exchange of cross-border attacks, especially after the July 30 assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.
The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed more than 40,200 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara and Mohammad Sio in Istanbul