Hezbollah says one fighter has been killed in a firefight with Israel

Hezbollah says one fighter has been killed in a firefight with Israel

A fighter from the Lebanese group Hezbollah was killed Saturday along the border with Israel, the Iran-backed group said, bringing to 14 the number of its members who have died during two weeks of escalating violence in the border region.

A security source in Lebanon said the fighter was killed in the Lebanese area of ​​Hula, which faces Margaliot on the Israeli side, which Israel said was the target of an anti-tank missile attack. The Israeli army said it responded to the attack.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army have exchanged fire across the border almost every day since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, and Israel has retaliated with ferocious airstrikes in Gaza.

This is the worst escalation of violence along the Israel-Lebanon border since the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Sources have previously said that Hezbollah’s attacks were planned to keep the Israeli military occupied without provoking a major war. Israel maintains it has no interest in waging war and has said that if Hezbollah is contained it will maintain the status quo.

But rising tensions have raised concerns in the region and beyond about the risk of wider conflict as Israel prepares for a planned ground incursion into Gaza.

The border areas around Hula, Lebanon, have recently been the scene of several heavy firefights, prompting Israel to evacuate the nearby Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

An Israeli army spokesman said Saturday that the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona residents allowed the army to expand its actions against Hezbollah, which is an ally of Hamas that also receives support from Iran.

Israel and Hezbollah reported exchanges of fire at other points along the border on Saturday, including around Alma Al-Shaab in Lebanon and Hanita in Israel, an area where Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles and Israel responded.

Source: Terra

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