Israeli army says killed gunman on Lebanon border

JERUSALEM

Israeli forces killed a gunman in an airstrike near the border with Lebanon, the military said Saturday.

A statement said an aircraft struck the gunman as he approached the border near the northern town of Shlomi in the Western Galilee region.

Tension has flared along the border between Israel and Lebanon, with exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Border clashes have been the deadliest since Hezbollah and Israel fought a full-scale war in 2006.

At least 57 Hezbollah members have been killed in cross-border clashes since Oct. 7.

The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the blockaded Palestinian enclave, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a cross-border attack by Palestine resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,600 people have been killed in the conflict, including 9,061 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.