At least four people were killed and 20 injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Sunday, the country's Health Ministry said, as fighting escalated along the southern border once more.
Israel's military said in a statement that it struck targets in southern Lebanon early in the morning, after Hezbollah launched two explosive drones at troops stationed in the so-called Israeli security zone.
The military said its forces intercepted one of the drones and that there were no Israeli casualties. It later issued a forced displacement warning for areas around a building in Arab Salim, saying the site was being used by Hezbollah and would be attacked. The Iran-backed group did not comment immediately.
The ministry said two people were killed and two injured in Nabatieh Al Fawqa, while eight people were injured, including a woman and a child, in Al Rahibat neighbourhood of Nabatieh. Two people were killed and six injured, including two children, in Arab Salim, while four were injured in Kfar Reman, the ministry added.
The toll was described as preliminary and it could rise as emergency teams assess the effects of the strikes.
On Friday night, the Israeli military launched a bombing campaign in Lebanon outside its so-called security zone, just hours after announcing it had cleared Hezbollah fighters from the strategic Ali Al Taher ridge.
The strikes killed five people and injured 24 across five locations in southern Lebanon and, for the first time since June, in the western Bekaa Valley, a preliminary toll from the Health Ministry showed.
The Ali Al Taher ridge had become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict despite a ceasefire, which was announced in June.
Israel had said Hezbollah fighters were holed up in tunnels dug beneath the ridge, which overlooks a wide area. The group denied reports that Iranian personnel were at the site and sought to play down the significance of the ridge.
Israel said on Friday that it struck weapons storage sites in southern Lebanon intended for use by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health authorities say more than 4,300 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2.
