CNN
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An Israeli strike has killed at least ten people – all of them Syrian nationals – in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a statement Saturday morning.
A woman and her two children are among the dead, according to the ministry.
The strike also wounded at least five, two of which are in critical conditions. They include three Syrians, one Sudanese and one Lebanese, the ministry said. Two of the Syrians are in critical condition and undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Nabatieh overnight.
The death toll from the strike is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Israel launched its war on Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 7 that killed around 1,200 people.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been exchanging almost daily cross-border fire since Israel launched its war on the enclave, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in ten months.
Tensions between Lebanon and Israel deepened further late last month when an Israeli strike on Lebanese capital Beirut killed the top military commander for Hezbollah, Fu’ad Shukr. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in that incident.
This has prompted speculation of looming retaliatory attacks from Hezbollah and Iran on Israel. Two sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN earlier this month that Hezbollah looks increasingly like it may strike Israel independent of whatever Iran may intend to do.
Given Lebanon’s proximity to Israel as its direct neighbor to the north, Hezbollah could act with little to no notice, one of the sources said — which is not true of Iran.
On Friday hostage and truce talks ended and are due to resume next week. International mediators presented a new proposal intended close the remaining gaps of disagreement between Israel and Gaza.
CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Katie Bo Lillis contributed reporting.
