BEIRUT, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Three Lebanese fighters were killed on Monday late at night, and two civilians were wounded in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Medical sources told Xinhua that the civil defense and the Muslim Scout Association rushed to the southeast village of Talloussa and worked until early Tuesday morning to remove the rubble of a destroyed house and five neighboring damaged houses to recover three bodies and two wounded people and transport them to nearby hospitals.
Meanwhile, UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Spokesman Andrea Tenenti rejected on Tuesday media reports claiming that the UNIFIL informed the Lebanese army, citing Israeli authority, that Israel will target the entire southern city of Nabatieh in the coming days.
"I am unaware of any specific conversation between the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL regarding what was mentioned," he said, adding "we often meet with our strategic partners in the Lebanese Armed Forces to discuss many issues related to security and safety along the Blue Line, and these discussions are confidential," according to the National News Agency.
Tenenti continued "UNIFIL mission is making every effort to calm tensions and prevent dangerous misunderstandings between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli army in addition to continuing our daily activities along the Blue Line to calm tensions."
The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since Oct. 8, 2023, after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 271 people on the Lebanese side, including 190 Hezbollah members and 44 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources. ■
