BEIRUT/PARIS – Eight people were killed and an unspecified number wounded on Thursday morning in multiple Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, Lebanon’s official media reported.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), three people were killed when an Israeli drone struck a car at dawn near the municipality of Al-Qlailah in southern Lebanon. Two others were killed in another drone strike targeting a car on the Zahle road in eastern Lebanon.
The agency reported that three more people were killed and several others wounded when the area between the towns of Zawtar and Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon was hit by three airstrikes.
A security source from the Lebanese Army told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 76 airstrikes in eastern and southern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early morning hours. The source added that 19 artillery strikes were also recorded on Lebanon’s border towns.
Hezbollah on Monday fired missiles and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike and for repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Israel has responded with massive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets and deployed ground forces into southern Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said that the group will continue its resistance against Israel, describing the confrontation as an “existential defense.”
Qassem said in a televised speech that Hezbollah had adhered to a ceasefire agreement between the group and Israel, while Israel failed to commit to any of its provisions.
“More than 10,000 violations” had been recorded by the United Nations and the Lebanese army since the ceasefire took effect, while around 500 people had been killed during the same period, he said.
Qassem said Hezbollah had refrained from responding to repeated Israeli attacks during that period in order not to be accused of obstructing diplomatic efforts, adding that the latest rocket barrage launched by the group was a response to Israeli and US “aggression,” as well as months of Israeli violations.
Separately, Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired a salvo of rockets on Tuesday evening toward the Tel Hashomer base, described as the headquarters of the Israeli army command southeast of Tel Aviv, as well as a military target south of the city of Haifa.
The group also said late Wednesday that its fighters clashed with Israeli troops near the southern Lebanese border town of Al-Dhahira.
In a statement, Hezbollah said that the confrontation occurred at around 11:20 pm local time after its fighters detected movements by Israeli forces attempting to advance toward the town.
Hezbollah said its fighters engaged the Israeli force directly, claiming to have inflicted confirmed casualties on Israeli troops. The group added that the clashes were ongoing at the time the statement was issued.
The group said the confrontation came in response to Israeli attacks targeting dozens of Lebanese towns and cities, including Beirut’s southern suburbs.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military regarding the reported clashes.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he had called on Israel to respect Lebanon’s territorial integrity and refrain from a ground offensive.
Macron said in a post on social media X that he had spoken earlier in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to discuss the situation in Lebanon, which he described as “very worrying.”
He said he had called on the Israeli prime minister to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive, stressing that it was important for the parties to return to the ceasefire agreement.
At least 20 people were killed and 283 others injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon over the past 24 hours, raising the casualty toll since Monday to 72 deaths and 437 injuries, Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health said Wednesday.
The escalation has also triggered a wave of displacement, with the number of displaced people rising to 83,847, or 18,033 families, according to figures released by Lebanese authorities.
As cross-border hostilities intensified, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, according to NNA.
The NNA reported that Israeli warplanes and drones targeted multiple areas in southern Lebanon throughout the afternoon, including the villages of Deir Siriane and Harouf, and the town of Arnoun. Separate airstrikes also targeted the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh.