BEIRUT

A teenager was killed and six others were injured in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, the country’s Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The Israeli attack killed a 17-year-old boy and injured six other civilians, the ministry said in a statement.

An Israeli drone targeted the town center of Deir Siriane in the Marjaayoun district, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Fears have grown of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala