Israel shells south Lebanon after Hezbollah missiles wound 3
Israel shelled Tuesday border areas in south Lebanon after three anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon, causing casualties on the Israeli side.
Three Israelis were injured, one of them critically wounded, Israeli reports said, as Israel shelled with artillery al-Khiam, Hamames, Kfarkela, Rmeish, Markaba, Aitaroun, and al-Bustan's outskirts.
The first anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
Two more anti-tank missiles were fired at the Yiftah kibbutz in northern Israel without any casualties, the Israeli army said, adding that it had shelled Hezbollah positions in response. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the two attacks, mentioning casualties on the Israeli side.
The Israeli army said it targeted a number of militants in south Lebanon with an airstrike and called on Israeli residents to evacuate the settlements near the border.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli troops killed four militants attempting to infiltrate from Lebanon with an explosive device, as tensions run high along the border between the two countries.
"A short while ago, IDF (Israeli army) observation troops spotted a terrorist squad attempting to infiltrate the security fence with Lebanon and plant an explosive device," the army said in a statement. "Four terrorists were killed."
A video from a reconnaissance drone the Israeli army shared showed the militants near the separation wall before they were targeted, causing an explosion.
No group in Lebanon claimed immediately claimed responsibility. Last week, militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in southern Lebanon crossed the border and clashed with Israeli troops, killing 3 and wounding several others. The militants were killed, and the Palestinian group held funerals for two of them.
Israel had carried out strikes overnight on "Hezbollah targets" inside Lebanon.
Since the start of the war triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border have left around 10 people dead on the Lebanese side, mostly combatants but also a Reuters journalist and two civilians.
On the Israeli side, at least two people have been killed.
Lebanon's state-owned National News Agency (NNA) reported that areas along the western section of the border came under "continuous" bombardment overnight.
Homes in the village of Dhayra were hit, resulting in casualties, NNA reported, without elaborating on how many villagers had been wounded or whether any had been killed.
"The enemy (Israel) used phosphorus bombs and targeted civilians," the news agency said.
The Israeli army denied it had been using the incendiary weapon white phosphorus in either Gaza or south Lebanon, after Human Rights War accused it of doing so last week.
It did not immediately comment on Tuesday's NNA report.
The international community fears the opening of a second front in the conflict, with Hezbollah joining its Hamas ally in the fight against Israel.
Israel has begun evacuating thousands of residents from 28 locations in the north.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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