Hezbollah says another fighter killed in cross-border clashes with Israel

BEIRUT

Another Hezbollah fighter was killed in clashes with Israel, the Lebanese group said Sunday as cross-border fighting continues to flare between the two sides.

The group identified the slain fighter as Ali Muhammad Benjak, 32, from the town of Shaitiya in southern Lebanon, without providing any details about the circumstances of his death.

The new fatality brought the number of Hezbollah fighters killed in cross-border clashes with Israel to 502 since Oct. 8, 2023, according to an Anadolu tally.

Lebanese media, meanwhile, reported Israeli airstrikes in several towns in southern Lebanon, but there was no information yet about injuries.

Tension has mounted following a deadly Israeli airstrike on Friday that killed at least 45 people, including children and women, and injured dozens in Beirut’s southern suburb.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in the Israeli strike.

The attack came two days after at least 37 people were killed and over 3,000 others injured in two waves of wireless communication device explosions across Lebanon.

While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has not denied or confirmed its involvement.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi