Photo taken on April 24, 2024 shows smoke rising following Israeli artillery shelling in the Lebanese border town of Tayr Harfa. Exchanges of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border saw an unprecedented escalation on Wednesday, with intense Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling confronted with a series of Hezbollah rocket shells and drones. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Exchanges of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border saw an unprecedented escalation on Wednesday, with intense Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling confronted with a series of Hezbollah rocket shells and drones.
Lebanese military sources told Xinhua anonymously that Israel carried out 18 air strikes on more than 15 towns and villages in the border area of southern Lebanon.
According to the sources, an Israeli bombing destroyed ten houses and caused damage to 25 homes while injuring three civilians in the southwest village of Tayr Harfa.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the strikes were carried out in the area of Ayta ash Shab, about 3 km inside the Lebanese border, against Hezbollah targets, including storage facilities, weaponry, and infrastructures, noting that Hezbollah fighters have used the area for military purposes.
Lebanese military sources said that they monitored the launch of about 50 surface-to-surface missiles and several drones from Lebanon into northern Israel, some of which were responded to by Israeli Iron Dome missiles.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said that dozens of its Katyusha rockets targeted several Israeli sites, including Zarit, the Shomera settlement, Ruwaisat al-Alam, al-Samaqa, and a building in Avivim where Israeli soldiers are stationed, leaving many dead and wounded.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Oct. 8, 2023, and held a situation assessment meeting with commanders.
According to Gallant, since the beginning of the border conflict, Israel has killed "about half of" Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon, putting the number at 40.
"Our goal has remained the same -- to ensure that a different security situation prevails here in northern Israel and that the residents of the north can return to their homes in peace and safety," he said.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 437 people on the Lebanese side, including 280 Hezbollah members and 77 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources. ■
(240424) -- AITA AL-SHAAB, April 24, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on April 24, 2024 shows smoke rising following Israeli air strikes in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab. Exchanges of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border saw an unprecedented escalation on Wednesday, with intense Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling confronted with a series of Hezbollah rocket shells and drones. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
