CAIRO (Reuters) – Two people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of Aitaroun, Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA) reported on Saturday.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its soldiers had identified a Hezbollah militant in the Aitaroun area, and that soon afterwards an Israeli aircraft had carried out an airstrike that hit the individual.
The NNA report said the Israeli forces had launched two missiles targeting a cafe at a petrol station, causing significant damage to the premises and to the surrounding area.
Hezbollah said on Saturday its fighters had retaliated by firing rockets on Malkia in northern Israel. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
The conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, which has been fought in parallel to the Gaza war, has intensified in recent days, adding to concerns that an even wider confrontation could break out between the heavily armed adversaries.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday jets had also struck infrastructure in the area of the town of Khiam after tanks had earlier fired at a Hezbollah military structure in the Kfarkela area.
Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, says its attacks aim to support Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
The fighting – the worst hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel since they fought a war in 2006 – has forced tens of thousands of people to flee homes on both sides of the border.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper)
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