Israel Kills Three People in Strikes, Including Two Hezbollah Fighters

Israeli forces carried out airstrikes against targets across southern Lebanon today, killing at least three people, including two members of Hezbollah. Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of their members but did not offer details on the circumstances beyond them dying in Israeli fire.

A civilian was also killed in Kfar Shuba. Identified as Qasim Asaad, reports are that the strikes which killed him also destroyed at least two homes.

Strikes targeting civilian homes are a recurring problem in Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon, as happened Saturday. National news reported multiple villages were hit, with many homes and surrounding property damaged as a result.

Also during Saturday, Hezbollah fired into Israel, with reports that anti-tank missiles were launched toward Menara and that Iron Dome defenses intercepted a suspicious drone in the same area.

Complaints about war crimes in Lebanon have mounted to the point that Lebanon has expressed openness to accepting International Criminal Court jurisdiction on the matter.

At issue are both war crimes committed on Lebanese soil and the number of sovereignty violations that occur. On Friday, the Lebanese cabinet instructed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to accept ICC jurisdiction.

This move may signal a new arena of response, as tit-for-tat strikes have been escalating for weeks, and there is a palpable fear of escalation leading to a full-scale war. Hezbollah is defiant about that possibility, insisting such a war would end Israel’s presence in the occupied northern territories. For locals, the concern is the more immediate rise in the civilian death toll.