BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on Saturday killed two people and sparked wildfires in southern Lebanon, state media said, with Hezbollah announcing the death of one fighter.

Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in the eight months since the Gaza conflict began, triggered by Hamas’ October 7 raid.

The deadly clashes have intensified in recent weeks, causing multiple brush fires on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.

Lebanon’s official Natio­nal News Agency (NNA) said on Saturday that “an Israeli drone carried out an air attack with two guided missiles, targeting a cafe in Aitarun and killing the cafe’s owner, Ali Khalil Hamad, 37, and a young man named Mustafa A. Issa.” The agency also reported a “violent airstrike” on the border village of Khiam.

Shortly after, Hezbollah said it launched Katyusha rockets on a town across the border “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks against southern villages and safe houses, and the targeting of civilians, notably in Aitarun where two people were killed”.

The movement later announced that one of its fighters was killed by Israeli fire. It identified him as Radwan A. Issa, without providing further details. The Israeli army said in a statement that “one of its planes struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the Aitarun region”, adding that they also struck targets in the area of Khiam.

More than eight months of border violence, which began on October 8, has killed 458 people in Leba­non, mostly fighters but including about 90 civilians, according to a tally.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2024