Woman killed, 7 injured in Israeli airstrike on home in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT

A woman was killed and seven people were injured late Thursday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in southern Lebanon, local media reported.

An initial report by Lebanon’s official National News Agency said a woman and seven people were wounded, some seriously.

No details on their identities or the severity of their injuries were provided.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli warplanes struck an area between the towns of Deir Qanoun En Nahr and Jnaita in Tyre district.

The target was a two-story house, prompting emergency teams to rush to the scene.

Israeli Army Radio confirmed late Thursday that the Israeli Air Force targeted a building in the town of Jnaita, resulting in casualties.

Earlier Thursday, Israel vowed to retaliate against attacks by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, asserting that both Hezbollah and Lebanon are “responsible for the border escalation.”

This followed the assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander by Israel two days prior.

Tensions have risen sharply between Hezbollah and the Israeli army since the killing of senior Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.

In retaliation, Hezbollah launched 150 rockets into northern Israel on Thursday, following an earlier barrage of 215 rockets and drone attacks on Wednesday.

This marked the largest single-day rocket launch by Hezbollah since the confrontations began on Oct. 8, 2023.

Hezbollah's rockets have caused numerous fires in northern Israel, with some posing a threat to strategic facilities, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,200 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio