Israeli airstrike kills 3 in south Lebanon

According to Lebanese official media, an Israeli strike near the Israeli border on Tuesday killed two journalists employed for a Lebanese TV station and a third individual.

Al Mayadeen said that the strike had been carried out on purpose since the TV team was known to be pro-Palestinian and pro-Iran’s regional military alliance. The incident took place close to the town of Tir Harfa, about a mile from the Israeli border.

Israel was also held accountable, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said in a statement that Israel was trying to muzzle the media with the strike.

After Hezbollah’s Palestinian affiliate Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, fighting broke out along the border between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese organisation.

Israeli tolls from the Hamas strike indicate that 1,200 Israelis were killed. In response, Israel invaded and bombed the Gaza Strip, killing at least 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run administration in the region.

The violence along the Israel-Lebanon border has intensified, escalating Western concerns about a Middle East conflict that might involve both Iran and the United States.

The violence at the border is at its worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006; almost 70 Hezbollah members, 13 civilians from Lebanon, seven Israeli forces, and three Israeli citizens have died as a result of it.

(With agency inputs)