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Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed two people. The Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah confirmed that two fighters were among the victims. The latest incident marked another flare-up in ongoing cross-border violence, raising concerns that it could spark a wider regional conflict.
Since the Gaza War was triggered by Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been exchanging fire almost every day. Amid this tension, ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are scheduled to resume in Qatar on Thursday because top Diplomats have worked to prevent the conflict from spreading, especially after Iran and Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for recent high-profile assassinations.
The Israeli strike on the town of Marjayoun left one person dead and nine injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Health detailed in a statement, revising an earlier report that said three people were killed. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an “enemy drone” attacked a car in the town square, which is usually a busy shopping area. Separately, the Ministry of Health confirmed that an Israeli strike in the village of Blida in southern Lebanon left another person dead and one injured.
The Israeli military admitted that its air force had attacked Hezbollah military facilities, including those in Blida, and later confirmed that Israeli warplanes had “eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists” in the Marjayoun area. Hezbollah later announced that two of its fighters had been killed by Israeli fire.
Earlier, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that Israel launched an attack on the Abbasiya area near the southern city of Tyre, injuring 17 people, including two teenagers and an eight-year-old girl, four of whom were in critical condition.
In retaliation for Abbasiyah’s attack, Hezbollah claimed to have fired “multiple Katyusha rockets” at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. The Israeli military confirmed that multiple rockets from Lebanon landed in “open areas” and caused no casualties.
Hezbollah also reported several other attacks on Israeli troops and positions on Wednesday, including using “explosive-laden drones.”
According to an AFP tally, the violence since October has killed about 570 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but at least 118 civilians. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, the clashes have killed 22 soldiers and 26 civilians, according to military reports.
In an effort to ease escalating tensions, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Seyonna plans to visit Beirut on Thursday, following a visit by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein on Wednesday.
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