Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah member in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah responded by attacking several Israeli sites, escalating tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border.

A Hezbollah member was killed on Monday in an Israeli airstrike in the village of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, said an Israeli warplane fired two air-to-surface missiles at a house in the center of Aitaroun, killing a Hezbollah member.

The military sources added that Israel launched seven airstrikes on five towns and villages and fired 45 shells on ten border towns and villages in southern Lebanon during the day.

For its part, Hezbollah announced that it attacked several Israeli sites, including Al-Samaqa, Dovev, and Ramot Naftali.

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.

Since the start of the confrontations with Israeli forces on the border, 357 members of the Lebanese armed group have been killed, according to Lebanese security and medical reports.