The Israeli army announced on Wednesday evening that its aircraft had attacked Lebanon in retaliation for the firing of a surface-to-air missile.
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“Recently, the Israeli army’s air defense network intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at an Israeli army drone,” the army said in a statement. “In response, Israeli army aircraft hit the point of origin of the launch.”
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, there have been daily clashes on Lebanon’s southern border between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and its allies and Israeli forces.
The violence left 52 people dead on the Lebanese side, including four civilians, 39 Hezbollah fighters and nine from its allied organizations. This comes from a new count by AFP after Hezbollah announced the deaths of two of its members on Wednesday.
Four people were killed on the Israeli side of the border.
Fears are growing that the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas will expand to Syria, but especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Early Wednesday, the Israeli military also attacked military targets in Syria in response to gunfire directed at Israel. According to Syrian state media, eight soldiers were killed in the attacks.
Earlier in the afternoon, Israeli aircraft carried out a new attack on Syria’s Aleppo airport, the fourth since October 7, according to the Syrian Defense Ministry.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Wednesday that its leader met with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to discuss ways to support those Palestinian movements in their war with Israel.
The pro-Iranian formation did not announce the date or location of the meeting between its general secretary Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas’ number two, Saleh al-Arouri, and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 when fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement infiltrated Israeli territory and massacred civilians.
Since then, more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and about 220 hostages in the hands of Hamas have been recorded by Israeli authorities.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, announced on Wednesday a new death toll of more than 6,500 deaths, mostly civilians, since Israel began its ceaseless bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation.