Lebanon says Israel strikes on the south kill eight

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon's health ministry said Friday Israeli strikes killed eight people including a child in different parts of the south, with Hizbollah saying five of its fighters were among the dead.

 

Hizbollah, which is backed by Iran, has exchanged regular fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.

 

The health ministry said an "Israeli enemy drone strike" killed two people including a "seven-year-old" in Aita al-Jabal, and that three other "Israeli" strikes killed six people in three other locations in the south.

 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a "hostile drone" targeted a house in Aita Al Jabal with "two guided missiles".

 

The health ministry said Israeli strikes included a raid "on the village of Tayr Harfa that killed three people", with Hezbollah later mourning three fighters killed by Israeli fire, including a man from that same village.

  

A source close to the group, requesting anonymity, told AFP that the three fighters were killed in the Tayr Harfa strike.

 

Israel's military said its aircraft "eliminated" members of "a terrorist cell that was planning to fire projectiles from the area of Tayr Harfa".

 

On Friday morning, Hizbollah said it had targeted the northern Israel base of Meron "in response to the enemy's attacks on... southern villages and homes".

 

The threat of full-blown war grew after Iran and Hizbollah vowed to avenge the killings last month, blamed on Israel, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut.

 

Cross-border violence since the Gaza war started has killed 600 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally.