Rescue workers from the "Scouts al-Rissala," affiliated with the Amal movement, at the site of the deadly Israeli strike in Aitaroun, southern Lebanon, on August 23, 2024. Photo provided by the organization to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
Eight people, including a child and seven Hezbollah fighters, were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes targeting several villages in southern Lebanon, where tensions between the party and Israel are escalating.
A house in the village of Tayr Harfa (Sour district) was hit by an Israeli ground-to-ground missile, according to our correspondent in the region. The Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed the bombing but reported only three deaths, all Hezbollah fighters, according to our correspondent.
The party announced the deaths of three of its fighters, but, as usual, did not specify where they were killed. The deceased are Hassan Wissam Harkous and Kassem Saleh Harkous, born in 2005 and 2004 respectively and from Toura in southern Lebanon, and Akil Kassem Gharib, born in 1990 and from Tayr Harfa. Our correspondent in the South reports that Hassan and Kassem Harkous are cousins. The Israeli army, on its part, stated that its aircraft had "eliminated" members of a "terrorist cell planning to launch projectiles" from the Tayr Harfa area.
A child was killed in Aita al-Jabal
Four other people, including a seven-year-old child, were also killed in three separate Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry.
An Israeli drone hit a house and a car near the village of Aita al-Jabal, in the Bint Jbeil district, according to local residents. This is the first time this village has been targeted by the Israeli army since the conflict with Hezbollah began on Oct. 8. The Health Ministry reported that the attack resulted in two deaths: a seven-year-old child and a Hezbollah fighter. The party announced the death of Mohammad Mahmoud Najem, born in 1971 and from Aita al-Jabal.
Israeli aircraft also bombed Mais al-Jabal, according to our correspondent. A fighter jet and a drone attacked the eastern neighborhood, killing one person and injuring two, according to the Ministry of Health. Our correspondent reports that the victim was a Hezbollah fighter. In a statement, the party announced the death of Hussein Mohammad Choukeir, born in 1998 and from Mais al-Jabal.
A drone strike on a motorcycle in Aitaroun killed an unidentified person and injured another, according to a security source and the Health Ministry.
An Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the road between Sour and Tayr Debba (Sour district) also resulted in one death, according to our correspondent.
Hezbollah's Attacks
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a strike around 10 a.m. as a "retaliation for the enemy's aggression on southern villages." The attack targeted "surveillance equipment at the Meron base," located a few kilometers inside Israeli territory opposite Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district). The equipment was "destroyed," according to the Shiite party. Another attack, using artillery fire, was claimed by the pro-Iranian group against the "Malikiya position," facing Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil). The Shiite party also fired artillery shells at Israeli soldiers near "Tallet el-Khazzan," facing the Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district).
At 3:55 p.m., Hezbollah targeted the Israeli site of Roueisat al-Alam in the contested hills of Kfar Shuba. They also attacked the Israeli site of Khirbet Ma'ar, opposite the Lebanese village of Boustane, "with a rocket barrage and directly hit it."
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, cross-border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel have been almost daily. Concerns about these hostilities escalating into a full-scale war have intensified since the death of a Hezbollah military leader in late July, killed by an Israeli strike in Lebanon, and the killing of the former Hamas leader in Iran, who accused Israel of assassination. Hezbollah and Tehran have promised retaliation.
Since October, the violence has resulted in 590 deaths in Lebanon, including 385 Hezbollah fighters, according to our count. In Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
