Strikes by IDF, Hezbollah kill several in Lebanon and Israel

Strikes by Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters killed people on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday as tensions and fear of a wider conflict continue.

An overnight strike on the southern Lebanese village of Hebbariye killed at least seven people. On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets at the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona, killing at least one individual.

Israel is then reported to have bombed two other Lebanese border villages later on Wednesday evening, killing at least nine more people.

Israel says it took out militants in Lebanon

Lebanese media reported that the overnight strike hit a medical center belonging to the Sunni militant group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya.

State-run news agency NNA said that "enemy fighter jets had hit a medical center" belonging to the group, adding that four seven medical staff were killed and four civilians wounded.

Israel's military claimed that it hit a military facility, killing only militants.

"A major terrorist from the organization 'al-Jamaa al-Islamiya,' who carried out attacks on Israeli territory, was eliminated at the site," the army said, adding that several of his colleagues were also killed.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya has previously said it would support Hezbollah — a Shiite militant group that receives support from Iran and has been designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and Germany and other governments — in its fight against Israel.

How did Hezbollah retaliate?

Hezbollah's response to what it called a "massacre" in Hebbariye involved firing "dozens of rockets" across the border.

The barrage struck buildings in Kiryat Shmona. Rescue workers later "found a 25-year-old who was unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing," and pronounced him dead at the scene, the Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service said.

Lebanon's state-run news agency said Israel bombed the village of Teir Harfa- after sunset where Hezbollah's Islamic Health Society reported that two of its paramedics were among the six who were killed.

A second strike on the coastal town of Naqoura killed at least three, with the Islamic Risala Scout Association — another paramedic group — saying one of its members had been killed.

The Israeli army said that in both instances it had hit terrorist cells.

Hezbollah has been carrying out almost daily attacks on northern Israel, with Israeli forces launching their own attacks on targets in southern Lebanon.

The hostilities broke out after Hamas carried out its unprecedented deadly attacks on Israel on October 7. Hezbollah announced its support for Hamas, which also designated a terrorist organization by many countries, including Israel, the United States and Germany.

Hezbollah has said that at least 240 of its fighters have been killed since then. There have also been civilian casualties on both sides of the border and tens of thousands of people have fled the area.

ab/wd (AFP, dpa, AP)