Shafaq News- Middle East (Updated at 15:43)
Israel on Thursday intensified strikes across southern Lebanon as Hezbollah launched rocket and drone attacks on Israeli military positions, escalating cross-border hostilities and pushing the death toll higher on both sides.
According to Israeli outlet Walla, military forces expanded operations into border villages, with ground activity reaching up to 14 kilometers inside Lebanese territory, including areas around al-Biyada. Troops demolished homes in several frontline villages.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the move as part of a plan to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon extending to the Litani River, adding that Tel Aviv will continue its ground operation until all objectives are achieved.
Lebanese media reported strikes across several southern towns, including areas around Bint Jbeil and Rihan, alongside artillery fire hitting multiple border zones. Israeli airstrikes targeted areas near Maifdoun and close to Bint Jbeil Governmental Hospital, with multiple casualties in the latest wave of attacks.
Three people were killed in a strike on a building in Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district, while four others lost their lives and three were wounded in a separate strike on al-Ramadiyah in the Tyre district, raising the overall toll since March 2 to 1,318 killed and 3,935 wounded, according to the Ministry of Health.
Across the border, Hezbollah expanded its attacks, launching rockets and drones toward Israeli positions in the Upper Galilee, including Even Menachem, Yiron, al-Malkiya, Avivim, Kiryat Shmona, and Metula, targeting troop gatherings. It also reported striking a Merkava tank east of Khiam, hitting Israeli forces inside two homes in Taybeh, and targeting troops and vehicles near the Fatima Gate crossing with rockets.
The group added that it fired on the Israeli army’s Northern Command headquarters (Dado base) in Safed, struck a force inside a house in Qouzah before targeting fleeing troops with rockets and artillery, and launched a surface-to-air missile at a helicopter over Ramyeh, forcing it to withdraw.
Israeli media also indicated that around 70 rockets were fired from Lebanon overnight, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel, including areas near Safed and throughout the Upper Galilee. Authorities reported damage in Kiryat Shmona, while emergency teams responded to possible injuries, adding to the 6,286 people already taken to hospitals since the start of the conflict, with 100 still under treatment.