(Beirut) A Hezbollah fighter and two civilian members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in a border town in southern Lebanon, state media and the pro-Iranian group said on Wednesday.
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have been almost daily since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil by the Palestinian movement, which is supported by the powerful Lebanese group.
“Enemy planes carried out a raid (…) on a house (…) in the center of Bint Jbeil”, about 2 km from the border with Israel, indicated the National News Agency (ANI , official).
The agency said a man, his brother and sister-in-law were killed, and a fourth person from the same family, Bazzi, was injured in the raid that took place late Tuesday evening.
Hezbollah subsequently announced the death of one of its fighters, Ali Bazzi.
An AFP photographer on site saw a two-story house completely destroyed, and significant damage to surrounding homes and businesses.
A relative of the family told the AFP photographer that the brother of the Hezbollah member, Ibrahim Bazzi, killed as well as his wife, had Australian nationality. According to him, he had arrived from Australia a week ago.
Since October 7, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have left nearly 160 dead on the Lebanese side, including more than 110 Hezbollah fighters.
On the Israeli side of the border, at least 13 people have been killed, including nine soldiers, since October 7.
The Israeli army announced Tuesday that nine of its soldiers and a civilian were injured by Hezbollah missile attacks, including one hitting a church in an Arab village in northern Israel.
Clashes are largely limited to border areas, but Israel has carried out strikes deeper, up to around 20 km from the border, in recent days.
Israel is demanding that Hezbollah, which does not have fixed positions in the border area, withdraw north of the Litani River, around thirty km further north.