An Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon has killed 10 people, Lebanese officials say, in one of the deadliest attacks in the current violence along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The building hit, in the city of Nabatieh, was housing Syrian refugees, the Lebanese Health Minister, Firass Abiad, told the BBC. Israel said it had targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot, which was denied by the owner of the facility.
In response Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political Lebanese group, fired a barrage of rockets, targeting a kibbutz in northern Israel and another on an Israeli military post.
There were no casualties as a result of the first attack, while two Israeli soldiers were injured in the second, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near daily fire across the border since the 7 October attack on Israel by Palestinian militants prompted an Israeli invasion of Gaza with the aim of eliminating Hamas.
Tensions have escalated further in recent weeks after Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has vowed to respond to the assassination.
It comes as international mediators have urged Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire deal in upcoming talks, amid fears the war in Gaza could spiral into a regional conflict.
Iran has dismissed calls from Western leaders to refrain from retaliating against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in its capital, Tehran, last month.
But there are indications that Iran may have decided to delay its response amid the efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Abiad, however, said Israel’s actions suggested it had no interest in a deal.
He also said that a woman and her two children were among the dead in Nabatieh, and that a further five people were in a critical condition.
Hossain Tohmaz, the owner of one of the buildings hit, said it was a “100% civilian facility”, where people worked and lived.
“This is a hangar used for manufacturing iron, and that is a warehouse where we park trucks for loading goods like solar panels. The workers live and sleep on the top floor,” he said.