Attacks on Lebanon-Israel border kill seven Lebanese and one Israeli

2024-03-27 10:02:02

HEBBARIYE, Lebanon (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a health care center linked to a Lebanese Sunni group in southern Lebanon killed seven of its members early Wednesday and triggered a rocket attack that killed one person. in northern Israel, officials said.

The operation in the Lebanese town of Hebbariye came a day after the Israeli army and the Hezbollah insurgent group exchanged airstrikes and rockets along the border between the two countries, raising fears of a further escalation in their clashes.

The airstrike, which occurred shortly after midnight, hit an Islamic Emergency Relief Corps office, according to the Lebanon Ambulance Association. It was one of the deadliest operations since the start of border clashes more than five months ago, coinciding with the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The paramedics association identified the seven volunteers who died in the incident, which it called a “flagrant violation of humanitarian work.”

Ali Noureddine, a resident of Hebbariye, told The Associated Press that the seven dead were pulled from the rubble before dawn Wednesday.

For its part, Israel’s military said it attacked a military building in Hebbariye and killed a member of the Sunni militia al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or Islamic Group, and several other insurgents. The man was involved in attacks against Israel, he added.

Hours later, Hezbollah announced that it responded to the airstrike by firing dozens of projectiles Wednesday morning at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona and a military base in the area.

Israeli rescue services reported that a 25-year-old man died after a direct hit caused a fire at an industrial estate in Kiryat Shmona. Images from the scene showed dense black smoke coming from a building.

Another person suffered minor injuries. About 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel, the Israeli military said.

Nada Khleif was in his small bakery in Hebbariyeh when the attack caused serious damage to his business and a nearby apartment, where two of his relatives were unharmed.

“The bakery was my only means of support. “Now it’s gone,” he said.

Hezbollah began launching projectiles into Israel a day after Hamas-led insurgents swept into the country’s south on October 7. The near-daily violence has been mostly limited to the border area, and international mediators are trying to avoid an all-out war between the Lebanese group and the Israeli army.

The fighting has claimed the lives of nine civilians and 11 soldiers in Israel. Nearly 240 Hezbollah fighters and around 40 civilians have been killed in Lebanon.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Lebanon, contributed to this report.

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