An Israeli strike in south Lebanon killed at least five family members, according to an updated toll released Thursday by state media. One youngster was rescued from the rubble.
The assault late Wednesday in the southern city of Nabatiyeh resulted in the biggest civilian death toll in a single strike in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities began in October, heightening concerns about a larger battle between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, Israeli raids in southern Lebanon killed ten persons, eight of them were civilians, according to state media and Hezbollah.
The state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday that “five bodies were pulled out” of the debris of a flat in Nabatiyeh, identifying the victims as apartment owner Hussein Barjawi, his two daughters, his sister, and his grandson.
It had earlier reported four deaths.
According to the NNA, Barjawi’s wife and niece’s “bodies” remain missing.
According to the report, emergency responders rescued a youngster from the wreckage “after midnight,” while another relative and at least six others were rushed to the hospital.
According to the agency, the Israeli strike, carried out by “a drone with a guided missile,” severely damaged the three-story apartment building, warning it could collapse and causing damage to neighboring structures, vehicles, and infrastructure.
An AFP correspondent on the site reported that authorities had cordoned off the area.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah have traded cross-border fire on a nearly daily basis.
Also on Wednesday, the NNA reported that Israeli airplanes hit a residence in Sawwaneh, south Lebanon, killing three members of the same family, including a Syrian lady, her two-year-old child, and her stepchild, aged 13.
The group also reported that two Hezbollah fighters were killed in other Israeli strikes in south Lebanon on Wednesday.
The strikes happened after the Israeli army reported that a soldier had been killed by rocket fire from Lebanon.
No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, and Hezbollah claims no attacks on Israeli troops or fortifications on Wednesday.
Fears have grown of another full-fledged battle between Israel and Hezbollah, who last went to war in 2006.
Stephane Dujarric, the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson, said that “the recent escalation is dangerous and should be stopped.”
According to AFP, the cross-border fighting has killed at least 254 individuals on the Lebanese side, the majority of them are Hezbollah combatants but also include 38 civilians.
The Israeli army reports that 10 troops and six civilians have been killed.