BEIRUT, Lebanon: Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanese authorities said, as Hezbollah said it fired rockets into northern Israel in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
The escalation came as diplomatic efforts continued in Washington, where Israeli and Lebanese officials held a second day of talks.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least nine people were killed in Israeli strikes across the south, including two paramedics whose ambulance was hit in the Chehour area.
The ministry said another strike hit a car just south of Beirut in the Khaldeh area, injuring two people.
Lebanese state media also reported a separate strike on a car on a coastal highway south of the capital, in one of the closest attacks to Beirut since the ceasefire arrangement was announced.
The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed on a road between Nabatieh and Kfar Tebnit when his motorbike was struck.
Two other soldiers were wounded in a separate attack on their vehicle in the Deir Zahrani–Nabatieh area, it added.
Lebanon’s health ministry said two medics were killed when an ambulance was directly hit in Chehour. It said the ambulance strike also seriously wounded another paramedic.
The ministry said six other people were killed near the coastal city of Tyre, including four Syrians and two Palestinians in a strike in the al-Housh area.
The health ministry accused the Israeli military of “demonstrating contempt for international humanitarian law”.
At least 128 paramedics and healthcare workers have been killed in Israeli strikes on ambulances and medical facilities over the past three months, it added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it intercepted a drone and two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel.
It said a “hostile aircraft” was intercepted near the Manara and Kiryat Shmona areas, and two projectiles were downed near Misgav Am.
Hezbollah later said it had targeted a gathering of Israeli troops in northern Israel with a rocket barrage, saying the attack was in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
The latest escalation tested the ceasefire agreed earlier this week, which Lebanese officials said included an understanding that Israel would refrain from bombing Beirut in exchange for Hezbollah not attacking Israel.
Israel’s leadership has warned it could resume strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs if cross-border attacks continue.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped the Israel and Lebanon talks in Washington would produce “an action plan on a track for security in [Lebanon]”.
