6 killed, 3 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on S. Lebanon

BEIRUT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — Five Hezbollah members and a child were killed and three civilians wounded on Friday in a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.
The sources, who spoke anonymously, said an Israeli warplane launched an airstrike on a house in the village of Mays al-Jabal, killing two Hezbollah members, one of whom was a military official, wounding three civilians, and destroying the house.
A Civil Defense vehicle has transferred the casualties to a hospital in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, the sources added.
The military official was identified as Mohammad Mohammad Najm, who operated in the center of southern Lebanon.
In a separate incident, an Israeli drone fired two air-to-ground missiles at a civilian car on the Tyre-Al-Hamadia road, killing a Hezbollah member, the sources said, noting that the Civil Defense crew worked to extinguish the car fire and transferred the body to the Lebanese Italian Hospital in Tyre.
The sources continued that an Israeli drone fired two air-to-ground missiles at a motorcycle traveling on the road to the village of Aitaroun, killing a Hezbollah member and a seven-year-old child who happened to be nearby.
Meanwhile, a Hezbollah member died of wounds he sustained in an Israeli raid on the village of Tayr Harfa in the morning, according to the sources.
“Since the Israeli killing of Fouad Shokor on July 30 in Beirut’s southern suburbs, 38 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Israeli assassinations and air raids,” Hezbollah said via its media.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
The situation escalated further after Israel killed Hezbollah’s top military commander Shokor. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli raid at the appropriate time and place. ■