1 Israeli soldier killed, 6 injured in fighting in southern Lebanon, army says

An Israeli soldier was killed and six others were injured in fighting in southern Lebanon, the military said on Sunday.

In a statement, the army said three soldiers sustained serious injuries, while two others were wounded moderately, without specifying when the fighting occurred.

Lebanese group Hezbollah said Sunday that it had carried out a series of attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in retaliation of Israeli violations of a ceasefire deal.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the south since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2. The region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28.

Since March 2, expanded Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 2,500 people and displaced over 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

A 10-day truce was first announced on April 16, but was repeatedly breached by Israel.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a second round of high-level negotiations at the White House.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.