Lebanon on Saturday raised the toll in Israeli strikes on the country's south and east overnight to four killed, with Israel saying it was responding to an attempted Hezbollah attack. Lebanon's health ministry reported four people killed, including an 18-year-old woman, and 32 others wounded across several locations struck on Friday.
How many people have died in the Israeli strikes on Lebanon?
Lebanon's health ministry reported four people killed, including 18-year-old Maryam Salameh, and 32 others wounded, including several women and children. The strikes hit several locations on Friday, particularly in the Nabatieh region. An Israeli army statement said its forces struck Hezbollah "terrorists and infrastructure," including "weapon storage facilities."
"The strikes were carried out in response to Hezbollah's attempted attack" on Friday against Israeli troops in south Lebanon, "during which a drone was launched toward the soldiers," the Israeli statement said, without reporting any troop injuries. The raids came after Israel said on Thursday that it had taken control of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge near south Lebanon's Nabatieh.
How has Hezbollah responded to the strikes?
Hezbollah, which has not claimed any attacks on Israeli targets for weeks, condemned the strikes on Saturday in its first statement since Israel announced it had captured the Ali al-Taher ridge. The statement did not mention Ali al-Taher or confirm Israel had taken the site.
In the town of Mayfadoun, an AFP photographer saw a few residents inspecting the latest destruction. Ali Suliman, a relative of Salameh, said her family had been displaced for six months by Israeli bombardment "and returned only yesterday." "What targets were here? They are all civilians," he said, adding that Salameh had recently received a certificate of excellence at school, but now "she will receive a death certificate."
What else has happened between Lebanon and Israel this week?
The strikes came after the International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of four people detained by Israel on Friday, a day after another person was freed. Hezbollah called Israel's release of the five detainees this week "significant," but said the move "cannot serve as a pretext for overlooking the continuation of aggression, occupation and killing."
"Nor can it justify pursuing a course that has proven incapable of protecting Lebanon and its people," Hezbollah added, referring to Lebanon's direct negotiations with Israel.
What is the broader context of the Israel-Lebanon conflict?
Lebanon began talks with Israel after Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people. Israeli forces are operating inside a self-declared "security zone" around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border.
Violence has lessened since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on the broader conflict in June and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon later that month.
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