Israeli strikes on the town of Maroun al-Ras killed a woman in her eighties early Thursday morning and left her husband wounded. Israeli artillery shells struck “residential neighborhoods” in the town, hitting the house of the couple in their eighties.
On Thursday morning, the Israeli army stepped up its attacks on localities in southern Lebanon, shelling Aytaroun and the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura, Yaroun and Aita al-Shaab. This escalation prompted alarm sirens at UNIFIL headquarters. Moreover, Israeli military aircraft dropped three air-to-ground missiles on an empty house in Kfar Kila. The forests of Jabal el-Labbouneh and el-Alam were also targeted by incendiary bombs. Earlier in the morning, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon at the Israeli settlement of Avivim in the Upper Galilee.
In retaliation for Israeli assaults on Lebanese groves, Hezbollah said it launched a series of attacks, including “incendiary rockets,” on forested areas of northern Israel early Thursday. Additionally, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the settlement of Kiryat Shmona with Katyusha missiles on Wednesday night, as well as the Pranit forests near the border with incendiary missiles. The pro-Iranian party also announced the death of one of its fighters, after an Israeli strike on a house in Markaba.
According to press reports, a loud noise was heard on Wednesday evening in the town of Sidon, which echoed in many localities in Iqlim el-Kharroub as two explosions were heard in the Chouf region, a few minutes after reports of a strange object falling in Bisri according to the “Annahar” daily.
The border between Lebanon and Israel has seen regular exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began on October 7. More than 140 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also a Lebanese soldier and 19 civilians, including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.
