BEIRUT: An Israeli air strike on a car in south Lebanon seriously wounded a military official of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah on Thursday, a Lebanese security source said.

The official was “seriously wounded and a companion was also injured” in the strike in the city of Nabatiyeh, some way from the border region that has seen almost daily exchanges of fire since the Israeli aggression against Hamas, the source said.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the vehicle had caught fire after it was hit by missile fired by an Israeli drone as it entered Nabatiyeh at around 4:15pm.

The Lebanese army closed off the main road where the strike took place, a photographer reported. The Israeli military said it was “examining reports” of the strike, when asked for comment.

Earlier, Hezbollah said it had targeted a brigade headquarters in the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona in the latest exchanges between the two sides.Israel has repeatedly bombarded Lebanese border

vill­a­ges, killing 227 people. On the Israeli side, 15 people have been killed in the northern border area including nine soldiers and six civilians, according to the Israeli army.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2024