Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill four including two children, as regional tensions soar, raising fears of wider Gaza war

A source said that two children were killed in the strikes, as Israel responded to cross-border rocket fire from Lebanon

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7, at least 243 people have been killed in Lebanon, most Hezbollah fighters but also including 30 civilians

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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on February 11. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it has begun a series of air strikes in Lebanon. Photo: AFP/File

Published: 9:42pm, 14 Feb 2024Updated: 10:49pm, 14 Feb 2024

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its fighter jets “began a series of strikes in Lebanon”, raising fears of a war between the two countries after months of cross-border fire.

The military gave no further details of the strikes, while Lebanese media reported air raids on southern villages including Adchit, Sawwaneh and Shihabiyeh, with one Lebanese security source saying that at least four civilians were killed in the attacks.

“A woman was killed along with her child and her stepchild in a strike that targeted Sawwaneh,” while a fourth civilian was killed in a strike on a building in Adshit, the security source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Nine other people were wounded in the strikes in south Lebanon, the source added.

The strikes came hours after fire from Lebanon wounded multiple people in northern Israel, according to doctors.

Seven people were wounded, five of them in the town of Safed, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.