Beirut, Lebanon — A Lebanese security source said an Israeli strike Thursday killed four Hezbollah members, with the Iran-backed group announcing three dead and a drone attack in retaliation, as cross-border hostilities intensify.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel in support of ally Hamas a day after the Palestinian group’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
The Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that “four Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle” in south Lebanon’s Bafliyeh village, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the frontier.
Lebanon’s civil defense reported “four martyrs” in an “Israeli air strike” on the main road in Bafliyeh, adding that teams worked to put out the fire that broke out in the vehicle.
Hezbollah later said in separate statements that three of its fighters had been killed, and that it launched “an air attack with explosive drones” targeting an Israeli military base and its vicinity in retaliation.
The group also claimed several other attacks on Israeli positions and troops across the border on Thursday.
The Israeli army said “fighter jets and the Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted two UAVs (drones) in Lebanese territory”.
It said “several launches were identified crossing from Lebanon”, adding that the military “struck in order to remove a threat in several locations”.
Hezbollah has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks, while Israel’s military has struck deeper into Lebanese territory.
At least 399 people have been killed in Lebanon in seven months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also including more than 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 14 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border. Three of the soldiers were killed this week, one of them on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, Hezbollah said two of its fighters had been killed, while Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said three of its own combatants died on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.
