A Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli fire on a military post near the country’s southern border Tuesday, Lebanon’s army said, the first such death since cross-border hostilities began in October.
The Lebanon-Israel border has seen intensifying exchanges of fire since war broke out between Hamas and Israel in October, mainly involving the Iran-backed Hezbollah, raising fears of a broader conflagration.
“An army military position in the… Adaysseh area was bombarded by the Israeli enemy, leaving one soldier martyred and three others injured,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.
The death was the first fatality in the ranks of the country’s armed forces since hostilities broke out.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported Tuesday that the Israeli army shelled and carried out air strikes on southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah also claiming several attacks on Israeli troops and positions.
More than 110 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, mostly Hezbollah fighters and more than a dozen civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On October 9, Israeli shelling slightly injured a Lebanese officer.
On the Israeli side, six soldiers and three civilians have been killed, Israeli authorities said.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission has also said its headquarters in Lebanon’s south has been hit by shelling several times since hostilities began.
Hezbollah says its attacks on Israel have been in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group’s assault on southern Israel on October 7, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
In response, Israel has vowed to eliminate the militant group and unleashed an air and ground campaign that authorities in Hamas-run Gaza say has killed nearly 15,900 people, also mostly civilians.
Source: Al Arabiya