One soldier killed in Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, says Lebanese army

ISTANBUL

A Lebanese soldier was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese army said.

In a statement on the US social media company X, the army said Corp. Mohammad Mofid Tufaili was killed in a strike that targeted the town of Deir al-Zahrani.

His funeral arrangements will be announced later, it added.

The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

The ongoing Israeli offensive on Lebanon comes amid heightened regional tensions since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with waves of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, inflicting casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.