Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 10:22 pm
Beirut, Lebanon — In a dramatic escalation of the epidemic border hostilities, Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Friday killed at least six Hezbollah fighters and one child, according to security sources. Retaliatory artillery and rocket fire from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group met the strikes as a wider regional conflict cranked into high gear.
The cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah have been happening parallel to the Gaza conflict, in which the Israeli military is involved. These clashes have grown stronger in recent times and increase apprehensions that matters might spiral into a comprehensive war.
Casualties and Targets of the Airstrikes
The death toll among Hezbollah fighters stood at four in these areas, according to Hezbollah’s death notices and security sources. Another strike near Aitarun killed a fighter; it was not immediately known whether the casualty belonged to Hezbollah or not.
An Israeli attack against the village of Aita, some 14 km nine miles north of the Israeli border, also killed a Hezbollah fighter and a child. The militant slain in Aita, named by Hezbollah as Mohammad Najem, was identified by the Israeli military as being with the group’s rocket and missile unit.
The Israeli military claimed responsibility online Thursday for targeting Najem in Aita and two other Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, but Israeli officials would not confirm it. “A number of projectiles fired from Lebanese territory crossed into northern Israel,” the statement said, but no people were injured.
Rising Death Toll Amid Escalating Conflict
The continuous clashes have brought massive causalities along both sides of the border. More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon since clashes began in October, according to a Reuters tally, including more than 400 Hezbollah fighters and more than 130 civilians. The rapidly mounting death toll highlights the gravest conflict in years and the increasing fear that it will erupt into a wider regional war.
International Concerns and Regional Implications
Mounting violence between Israel and Hezbollah has incited an international response amidst fears that this conflict may grow out of the present borders into a wider theatre that involves other regional players. The situation is rather volatile, with both sides engaging in fierce military operations.
