Israeli Airstrike on Lebanon Kills Family of Five

A family of five, including three Hezbollah members, died Sunday when an Israeli airstrike destroyed their home in Khirbet Selm. The slain included a father, mother, two sons and a wife. The mother was reported by some sources to be pregnant.

The family was not originally from Khirbet Selm, but relocated there from the town of Blida, which had been itself recently attacked by Israel. Hezbollah confirmed the three male family members were also associated with them.

In addition to the slain family in the destroyed house, airstrikes injured more than nine, including multiple teenage girls and a pregnant woman. A dozen nearby houses to the one actually targeted were said to be badly damaged.

Hezbollah responded by firing dozens of katyusha-type rockets against northern Israel. The Israeli military said they successfully intercepted “some of them,” and so far there has been no report of any injuries in Israel.

The rockets primarily targeted the Mt. Meron Air Base, and the nearby Meron village. 35 rockets were fired, of which seven were reported as intercepted. Israel claimed the rest hit open areas and didn’t cause any casualties.

Mount Meron has been a popular target for Hezbollah, which hit and badly damaged the site in early January. The site was believed to be primarily used as an observation post into Lebanon, though officially it has been referred to as a “strategic airbase.”

Outside of Meron, rockets were fired against Mount Dov and Mount Hermon, and Hezbollah issued a statement making clear it was a response to Israeli attacks on southern villages and civilian homes, as well as today’s attack on Khirbet Selm.

The attacks came a day after Hezbollah claimed to have killed an unspecified number of Israeli troops in retaliatory fire for previous Israeli attacks earlier in the week. Israel has not commented on the report.