Israel strike kills 5 Syrian soldiers on Lebanon border

An Israeli air strike on Friday killed five Syrian soldiers near the border with Lebanon, the official news agency SANA reported, citing a military source.

"The Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack... on one of our military positions near Kfar Yabous on the Syrian-Lebanese border," SANA said, adding that five Syrian soldiers were killed and one was wounded.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah militants and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.