MONITORING (SW) – At least eight Lebanese citizens have died in air strikes and six Israeli soldiers killed in combat after another day of fighting on Wednesday in Lebanon, as Israel continues its offensive against Hezbollah.
Three women and three children were among the eight killed in the Israeli air strike, which happened in broad daylight on a village south of Beirut, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
At least a dozen homes were destroyed after a series of Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which are controlled by Hezbollah.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, according to Reuters.
It was the second consecutive day that the area came under sustained bombardment, and residents have largely evacuated the area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed six of its soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon. The IDF released the names and details of five of the victims, all of whom were aged between 20 and 21.
Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,365 people in Lebanon, the majority in the last seven weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria and southern Lebanon over the last year, according to Israel.
Meanwhile, the US says Israel has not breached American laws on blocking aid supplies, after a 30-day deadline it gave Israel to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza or risk having some military assistance cut off lapsed.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel cited the opening of a new land crossing, and deliveries resuming in the north – although he did not say any had entered the besieged Jabalia refugee camp.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas after the group’s attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which left about 1,200 people dead; 251 others were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry
