Lebanon health ministry says three killed in Israeli strikes

By AFP - Sep 12,2024 - Last updated at Sep 12,2024

A shell fired from Israel explodes over the southern Lebanese border village of Khiam on September 11, 2024 (AFP photo)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Lebanese health ministry said a child was among three people killed in an Israeli strike in the south on Thursday, amid ongoing exchanges of fire between Israel and Hizbollah.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group has been trading near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

The Lebanese health ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike" hit the village of Kfarjouz near Nabatieh, some 10 kilometres from the border with Israel.

The strike killed "three people, among them a child, and wounded three others", the ministry said, without providing further details.

A source close to Hizbollah confirmed that one of dead was "a fighter in Hizbollah" and the two others were "civilians".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike "targeted two motorcycles on the Nabatieh-Kfarjouz road", adding that a passing car was also hit.

Earlier Thursday, Hizbollah said it launched a number of attacks on military positions in northern Israel, some with drones.

The Israeli military said "approximately 15 projectiles" were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory but some were intercepted and no casualties were reported.

The cross-border violence since early October has killed some 622 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 142 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.

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