BEIRUT: Two people, one a civilian and another a civilian, were killed, the Israeli military said, and seven others were wounded Wednesday in renewed Israeli fighting in several southern Lebanese towns.
An Israeli drone attacked a motorcycle in the city of Jua'iya at noon and hit a passing car, injuring the occupants.
The Ministry of Health's emergency operations center reported two deaths: Hezbollah member Hassan Fares Jechi and a civilian named Mohammed Hassan Shumar, while four others were injured.
The Israeli military said: “Hassan Fares was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit.”
Israeli artillery and air strikes continued on border towns known for their allegiance to Hezbollah. These attacks hit the towns of Blida, Tayr Harfa, Khiam, Jebbayn, Chihine, Majdelyoun, Naqoura, Zibqin, Chaqra, Baraachit, Halta, Kounine, Mhaibib and Kfarkela.
“A phosphorus cannon was hit in Sheba, causing one person to suffocate and require hospital treatment,” the emergency operations center said.
Hezbollah responded by attacking “the Raheb and Jal-al-Alam bases with artillery shells and the Malikiya base with missiles.”
Israeli warplanes breach noise barrier for second day over Beirut
Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israeli aircraft carried out similar raids in two waves over the cities of Sidon and Jezzine, as well as other areas in the south of the country, with activists on social media sharing images of the planes violating Lebanese airspace.
Residents of Beirut and dozens of cities in the Mount Lebanon region suffered violent panic on Tuesday as Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at low altitude, sending a rumbling sound.
Border villages along the Blue Line in the western and central regions saw tensions for hours, with the Israeli army firing signal flares and Hezbollah launching nine raids on Israeli military positions.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech Tuesday that the response to the assassination of the group's top military leader Fouad Shukr last week was “inevitable”.
Israelis are also expecting a response from Hezbollah and Iran to the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after Shukr's death in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “The Israeli military is continuously developing its defensive and offensive capabilities.”
Meanwhile, leaflets were distributed in Druze-majority regions, particularly in the Shuefat area, on Wednesday, bearing images of children who were victims of a Majdal Shams attack in the occupied Golan, which killed 12 people, with the message: “We will avenge them, Hezbollah.”
Israel has accused Hezbollah of attacking a football stadium in Majdal Shams, but Hezbollah has strongly denied responsibility for the attack, while Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has pledged support for the Iranian-backed group.
