Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill Four, Including Children

Strikes in Lebanon blamed on Israel killed four people including two children and a local Hamas official, state media and a source close to the Palestinian group said.

Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, now in its eighth month.

The Lebanese movement has intensified its attacks in recent days, including using new weapons.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said "Israeli strikes targeted Najjariyeh and Addousiyeh", two adjacent villages near the southern city of Sidon, about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its air force "struck militants infrastructure" where Hezbollah fighters operated in the Najjariyeh area.

The "infrastructure contained several compounds used by Hezbollah's aerial defense array and posed a threat to Israeli aircraft", it added.

Hezbollah announced a fighter from Najjariyeh had died. Two Syrian children were killed in the Najjariyeh strike, identifying them as Osama and Hani al-Khaled.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF said that "two children were killed in an air strike in southern Lebanon," adding: "Protection of children is an obligation under the international humanitarian law."

The Israeli army statement said that "Hezbollah's aerial defense array deliberately operates from within civilian areas, thus endangering the lives of civilians in southern Lebanon".

Hezbollah said it launched "50 Katyusha rockets" at an Israeli base in retaliation for the Najjariyeh strike, and also announced further cross-border attacks, including with more rockets.

The fighting has killed at least 419 people in Lebanon, mostly militants.

Israel says 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed on its side of the border.