8 Israeli soldiers wounded in rocket fire from southern Lebanon

JERUSALEM

Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded Friday in rocket fire launched from southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

In a statement, the army said five soldiers from the Givati Brigade sustained serious injuries, while three others were lightly wounded in the same incident.

The army said the casualties resulted from anti-tank missiles fired at a military position near the Lebanese border.

The wounded soldiers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment, and their families were notified, the statement added.

Earlier, Israel’s Channel 12, citing the Israeli army, said that three Israeli soldiers were injured by fire from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, one of them seriously.

The broadcaster did not specify the exact location of the incident. The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces were operating at several points in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said in a series of statements on Friday that it carried out nine attacks using drones and rockets targeting military sites in northern Israel and Israeli forces operating inside southern Lebanon.

The escalation came as the conflict widened regionally this week to include Lebanon, following continuing attacks by Israel and the US on Iran that began Saturday.

Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, said Monday it targeted a military site in northern Israel in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The group said the strike was carried out despite a ceasefire agreement that has been in place since November 2024.

Israel responded the same day with new airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, leaving dozens dead.

Israeli forces also began what officials described as a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Israel had previously killed more than 4,000 people and wounded about 17,000 others during an offensive on Lebanon that began in October 2023 and escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul