ISTANBUL

Four people, including a soldier, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the Lebanese army and media said.

In a statement, the army said one soldier was killed and four others injured in a strike in the Qaqaiyat al-Jisr area while traveling by car and motorcycle.

The state-run National News Agency also reported that three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern city of Bint Jbeil.

Additional strikes targeted a house in the town of Taybeh and a commercial cooperative along the road between Borj Qallawiya and al-Ghandourieh in Bint Jbeil, causing material damage, the agency said.

Israeli forces intensified airstrikes and artillery shelling across southern Lebanon since early Tuesday, alongside a limited ground incursion, according to the Lebanese army and state media.

The Israeli military said its 36th Division joined the operation to expand the ground advance in southern Lebanon, with estimates placing Israeli forces 7 to 9 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least 886 people have been killed and 2,141 injured in Israeli attacks since March 2.

The current regional escalation began after the ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iran started on Feb. 28. Israel later expanded its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite a ceasefire that was reached in late 2024.