On Wednesday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed nine people, seven of whom were civilians, while the Israeli army reported it lost a soldier in cross-border rocket fire.
This is the highest single-day civilian death toll in Lebanon since October’s cross-border hostilities began.
The Israeli strike also killed four civilians from the same family in Nabatiyeh, including two women, causing concerns about a larger battle between Israel and Hezbollah.
Earlier, Israeli warplanes killed three members of a Syrian family in south Lebanon’s Sawwaneh, killing a Syrian woman and her child. Another Israeli attack in Adshit killed one person, a Hezbollah fighter, and injured 10 others, destroying a building and causing significant damage nearby.
In a statement, the Israeli army stated, “Sergeant Omer Sarah Benjo, 20, was killed as a result of a (rocket) launch carried out from Lebanese territory on a base in northern Israel”.
“Fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets in several areas of south Lebanon including Adshit and Sawwaneh”, the military continued.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the Israeli military and an Iran-backed Lebanese faction have traded cross-border fire on a nearly daily basis.
Hezbollah stated a second fighter was killed in south Lebanon on Wednesday, but claimed no attacks on Israeli forces or fortifications.
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