Israeli strikes kill five individuals in southern Lebanon: AFP

Five people were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, a security source told Agence France-Presse, as Hezbollah intensified its targeting of Israeli military sites after seven months of escalation.

Since the day following the start of the war between the Israeli state and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the border on a daily basis. However, recent weeks have seen an escalation in the attacks.

A Lebanese security source said, "Three people were killed in the Israeli shelling of a house in the town of Khiam," suggesting they were "Palestinian fighters."

"Two Hezbollah fighters" were killed in another raid on the border town of Odaisseh.

Hezbollah has not denied or confirmed the fighters from its ranks yet.

Earlier, the official National News Agency reported that "Israeli warplanes bombed the towns of Khiam and Kfarkela."

The airstrike, according to the agency, targeted a house in Khiam, resulting in its "complete destruction."

Images taken by a photographer cooperating with AFP showed thick smoke rising after the raid.

The agency reported Israeli shelling hitting many villages and towns in southern Lebanon, including Adaisseh.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee commented via the X platform, saying, "The Defense Forces targeted [...] facilities and weapons depots through aerial and artillery bombardment in the Ramyeh area in southern Lebanon," noting the bombardment "hit more than twenty Hezbollah targets in one area within minutes."

In successive statements, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for carrying out at least 11 attacks targeting buildings used by the Israeli army and movements of soldiers and military sites in northern Israel, launching drones and guided missiles in several of them.

The party stated that five of its attacks were "in response to the enemy's assaults on [...] southern villages and civilian homes and targeting civilians."

AFP