Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon resulted in the deaths of at least nine people, seven of them civilians on Thursday, 15 February, the worst single-day civilian death number in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities started in October, and has raised fears of a broader conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
After a strike from Hezbollah which reportedly killed an Israeli soldier, Israel’s strikes targeted several towns in southern Lebanon, including areas in the Nabatieh governorate. It came after the state-run National News Agency (NNA) in Lebanon said that Israeli warplanes struck a house in south Lebanon's Sawwaneh, killing three members of the same family, a Syrian woman and her two-year-old child and 13-year-old stepchild.
It added that another attack on the village of Adshit killed one person, reported to be a Hezbollah fighter, and wounded 10 others.
The Israeli Army said in a statement that Sergeant Omer Sarah Benjo, 20, was killed "as a result of a (rocket) launch carried out from Lebanese territory on a base in northern Israel".
Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah, said that the group’s cross-border fire would end only after Israel’s “aggression” in Gaza comes to a halt.
Meanwhile, Lebanese caretaker PM Najib Mikati condemned the strikes and instructed Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to register a fresh complaint with the United Nations Security Council.
According to a statement from Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s office, Gallant discussed "threats and attacks conducted by Hezbollah in Lebanon" with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Since the start of the 7 October conflict between Israel and Palestiian militant group Hamas, which was followed by heavy shelling and destruction of Gaza, Hezbollah has launched a cross-border assault against Israel. The attacks have killed at least 200 people in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported, including more than 170 Hezbollah members, 10 Israeli soldiers and five civilians.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)