In the latest episode of escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon, a deadly Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon has resulted in the loss of lives, with at least five people reported dead, including members of the same family, and nine others wounded, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA).
The strike, which occurred on Saturday in the Khirbet Selm area, claimed the lives of a couple and their two children, along with another individual. Tragically, the mother was also pregnant at the time of the attack. The NNA reported that the targeted house was completely demolished, inflicting injuries on at least nine additional individuals who resided nearby.
This latest incident adds to the toll of casualties resulting from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Since the outbreak of war in October, a total of 312 individuals, primarily Hezbollah fighters, and 56 civilians have lost their lives in Lebanon, according to figures compiled by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The conflict has primarily manifested through deadly exchanges of fire along the border regions, raising concerns of a broader conflict engulfing Lebanon. Last Tuesday, a similar Israeli strike in the southern border village of Hula claimed the lives of a Lebanese couple and their son.
In Israel, the toll from the conflict stands at at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians killed. The catalyst for the current hostilities can be traced back to the war between Israel and the Gaza militant group Hamas, a key ally of Hezbollah, which erupted in October.
During the Gaza conflict, approximately 1,160 people, predominantly civilians, lost their lives due to Hamas attacks on southern Israel, according to AFP figures sourced from Israeli authorities. In retaliation, Israel’s campaign to dismantle Hamas resulted in the deaths of 30,960 individuals in Gaza, with a significant portion being women and children, as reported by the health ministry of the Hamas-ruled territory.
As tensions continue to simmer and deadly exchanges persist between Israel and its adversaries, the international community faces mounting pressure to intervene and broker a ceasefire to prevent further loss of innocent lives and mitigate the risk of a wider regional conflagration.
Sources By Agencies
