This photo shows smoke caused by an Israeli airstrike in Aitaroun, Lebanon, on June 8, 2024. Four people, including two Hezbollah members, were killed, and five others were injured on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua)
BEIRUT, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Four people, including two Hezbollah members, were killed, and five others were injured on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.
The sources, who spoke anonymously, said that an Israeli warplane targeted a house in the village of Houla, killing two Hezbollah members and injuring three civilians.
The sources added that another Israeli airstrike targeted, with two air-to-surface missiles, a commercial market in the village of Aitaroun, killing two civilians and wounding two others.
The two slain civilians were identified as Ali Khalil Hamad, a coffee shop owner, and a young man named Mustafa Issa.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it responded to Israel's raids on Saturday with several attacks in the occupied Shebaa Farms and a number of Israeli sites, including Malikiyah, Al-Samaqa, Zarit, and al-Raheb.
Tensions increased between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in the wake of the latter's announcement of completing deployment for a major offensive against the former. The announcement came after a drone attack by Hezbollah on Wednesday on an Israeli gathering south of the Al-Kosh settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which caused numerous casualties.
The confrontations between the two sides have escalated along the Lebanon-Israel border since Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. ■
This photo shows smoke caused by an Israeli airstrike in Aitaroun, Lebanon, on June 8, 2024. Four people, including two Hezbollah members, were killed, and five others were injured on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua)
