UPDATE – Israeli drone strike injures 17 in southern Lebanon amid war fears

UPDATES NUMBER OF INJURED, CHANGES DECK

By Wassim Saifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) – At least 17 people were injured in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said, as fears continue to grow of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Four children were in serious condition following the attack that targeted the town of Abbasiyyeh in Tyre city, the ministry added in a statement.

Israeli airstrikes were also reported in the border town of Aita ash-Shaab.

No information was yet available about injuries or damage.

Hezbollah, for its part, said that its fighters had struck with missiles Israeli military posts in the occupied Shebaa Farms and northern Israel, resulting in direct hits.

According to Lebanese health authorities, at least 547 people have been killed and 1,765 others injured in Israeli attacks since Oct. 8, 2023.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire, especially with Hezbollah threatening military retaliation after the assassination of its top commander Fouad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on July 30.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,000 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala