4 killed, 17 hurt in Wednesday's Israeli escalation in south Lebanon

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least four people on Wednesday, the health ministry and state media said, after a morning Israeli drone attack on United Nations peacekeepers.

Israel regularly bombs Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that ended over a year of hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The health ministry reported four killed and 17 wounded, including children, in separate Israeli strikes across the south.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on all incidents, but said it killed Hezbollah member Al-Munim Moussa Sweidan in a strike on Yater, south Lebanon.

The Israeli army later added that it struck "a Hezbollah site in the Ansariyeh area of southern Lebanon," alleging the site stored "engineering vehicles" intended to rebuild the Lebanese armed group's capabilities.

The Lebanese health ministry said that at least 10 people were wounded in Ansariyeh, including three children.

- 'Serious violation' -

Early on Wednesday, the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that Israeli drones dropped four grenades near their peacekeepers in Lebanon a day prior.

"One grenade impacted within 20 meters (yards) and three within approximately 100 meters of U.N. personnel and vehicles," it added, reporting no casualties.

The Israeli military said troops "deployed several (stun) grenades" in response to "suspicious activity," adding that "no intentional fire was directed at UNIFIL personnel."

The U.N. force said Israel had been informed in advance of its plans to carry out road clearance work in that area, southeast of the border village of Marwahin.

It said endangering the lives of peacekeepers was "unacceptable and a serious violation" of a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution that formed the basis of last year's ceasefire.

UNIFIL has been deployed in south Lebanon since 1978 to separate it from Israel.

Under the November agreement, it has been assisting the Lebanese Army to dismantle Hezbollah military infrastructure in the south.

France condemned Tuesday's incident, calling for "the protection of the peacekeepers."

Qatar called for "an urgent investigation into this attack and for those responsible to be brought to justice."

The U.N. Security Council voted last week for peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027, allowing only one final extension of its mandate after pressure from Israel and its U.S. ally to wind up the nearly 50-year-old force.

Last year's ceasefire stipulates that only the Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers can deploy in south Lebanon, excluding both the Israeli army and Hezbollah from the region.

However, Israel has maintained troops in five locations it deems strategic.

Lebanon's government is expected to convene on Friday to discuss the Lebanese Army's plan to disarm Hezbollah, a mission the cabinet assigned it in early August.