A Lebanese security source said four Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the country’s south, the latest such raid in months of cross-border hostilities.
Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement began attacking Israel in support of ally Hamas a day after the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked war in the Gaza Strip.
The Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that “four Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle in Bafliyeh”, about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the frontier.
The Israeli army told AFP: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
Lebanon’s civil defence reported “four martyrs” in an “Israeli air strike” on the main road in Bafliyeh, adding that teams worked to put out the fire that erupted in the vehicle.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported at least one dead in a strike on the same road, which it attributed to “enemy aircraft”.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the incident.
The powerful, Iran-backed Shiite Muslim movement has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks, while Israel’s military has struck deeper into Lebanese territory.
At least 399 people have been killed in Lebanon in seven months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also including more than 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 14 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border, including one on Wednesday.
Three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed in north Lebanon this week.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah said two of its fighters had been killed, while Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said three of its own combatants were killed on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)
