Israeli attack in southern Lebanon leaves 10 dead, including one woman and her two children

NABATIIEH, Lebanon — At least 10 Syrians were killed in an Israeli military attack in southern Lebanon early Saturday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The attack on Wadi al-Kufur in Nabatieh governorate was one of the deadliest in Lebanon since Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces exchanged attacks on October 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has insisted it will stop its attacks if a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip.

The dead included a woman and her two children, the ministry said, while five were injured, two of them seriously.

Israeli military Arabic-language spokesman Avichai Adraei said the attack in the southern province targeted a Hezbollah arms depot.

Mohammed Shoaib, who runs a slaughterhouse in Wadi al-Kufor, said the area attacked was an “industrial and civilian area” home to factories producing bricks, metal and aluminium, as well as dairy farms.

An uncle of the three men killed in the attack said they were factory workers and were in the residence when it came under attack. He denied there were any weapons on the premises.

“There was nothing like that,” Hussein Shahood said. “There was metal for construction, building, all sorts of purposes.”

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the attack.

Lebanese and international governments have been struggling for weeks to end months of clashes in the region, which has been tense since July.

Last month, an Israeli military strike south of Beirut killed a top Hezbollah commander who Israel blames for orchestrating rocket attacks on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 young people, and hours later, an explosion in the Iranian capital widely blamed on Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Both Tehran and Hezbollah have vowed to retaliate but have yet to launch any attacks as diplomatic efforts and Gaza ceasefire talks continue in Qatar.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a six-week war that ended in a draw in the summer of 2006. Since then, Hezbollah’s military power has grown significantly.

More than 500 people have been killed in fighting since October 8, mostly Hezbollah and other militant group fighters, but also about 100 civilians and non-combatants. 22 Israeli soldiers and 24 civilians were killed. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the tense border.

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