BEIRUT — A Lebanese soldier was killed and another wounded on Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes on two towns in eastern and southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese military sources.
The military sources, who spoke anonymously, said the soldier was killed when an Israeli warplane carried out a strike on a house in Machghara town, located west of Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
They added that another soldier was wounded when an Israeli drone fired an air-to-ground missile at a Lebanese army unit that was working to secure traffic on the Marjeyoun-Hasbaya road at the entrance to the southeastern village of Kawkaba.
The sources noted that traffic on the road had been disrupted after an Israeli missile strike that created a large hole in the middle of the road.
The attacks took place amid the escalating confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel since mid-September. On Wednesday, Hezbollah announced its continued attacks on Israeli targets, claiming it had struck an artillery position in northern Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army managed to infiltrate Maroun al-Ras and Adaisseh villages in southern Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.
Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have sharply escalated after the latter announced a shift in military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern front in mid-September.
This intensified the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, triggering retaliatory Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.
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