The Israeli military said on Wednesday (Feb 14) that its fighter jets “began a series of strikes in Lebanon”. Meanwhile, a Lebanese security source said on the same day that Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed four civilians, including two children, and wounded several others.
As quoted by the Reuters news agency, the sources said that a woman and her two children were killed in the strike in the village of al-Sawana. Lebanon’s powerful armed group Hezbollah said a strike on a separate town killed one of its fighters.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military had been exchanging fire for over four months when the Lebanese armed group fired rockets across the disputed border in support of Hamas, which launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
This becomes a major concern as chances of war between Israel and Lebanon appear to have increased after months of cross-border fire as before the Israeli strikes, reports said that fire from Lebanon wounded multiple people in northern Israel, according to medics.
As reported by the news agencies, the Magen David Adom emergency service said that seven people were wounded, five of them in the town of Safed.
Although Hezbollah did not announce any operations on Wednesday, the head of its executive council said that Israel’s attacks “cannot pass without a response”.
But Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday (Feb 13) that fire from southern Lebanon will end “when the attack on Gaza stops and there is a ceasefire” between Hamas and Israel.
Meanwhile, Ilana Stein, who is an Israeli government spokesperson, told journalists that “numerous launches” were identified as coming from Lebanon on Wednesday morning. The strikes allegedly left one Israeli, a woman, dead and eight others hospitalised.
“As we have made clear time and time again, Israel is not interested in a war on two fronts. But if provoked, we will respond forcefully,” she said.
“The current reality, where tens of thousands of Israelis are displaced and cannot return to their homes, is unbearable. They must be able to return home and live in peace and security,” she said, further adding that the military responded to cross-border rocket fire from Lebanon.
Watch: Why is Israel planning a Rafah offensive and what would it mean?
After meeting with commanders along the Lebanon-Israel border, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi stated that Israel’s “next campaign will be very much on the offensive, and we will use all the tools and all capabilities”.
“We are intensifying the strikes all the time, and Hezbollah are paying an increasingly heavy price,” he said in a statement as reported by new agencies.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
