Israel Attack Kills Three Hezbollah Members in Southern Lebanon

Retaliatory Hezbollah drone attack wounds 18 soldiers in northern Israel

Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade strikes along the border, with mounting fears that months of such exchange of fire is escalating into full-scale war.

Israel fired four missiles at a two-story building in the southern Lebanese village of Houla, on Sunday, killing three Hezbollah members. The attacks also did substantial damage to several civilian homes in the area.

Hezbollah responded with a flurry of drones launched on northern Israel later in the afternoon. One of the drones hit Israeli troops in the Merom Golan area, wounding at least 18 soldiers, one of them seriously. The others are listed in “good” condition.

Hezbollah confirmed they were responsible for the drones, saying they hit the troops in retaliation for the Israeli attack earlier. Initially Hezbollah claimed only one Hezbollah member was killed in the Israeli airstrike, but Lebanese military sources put the figure at three.

What became of the other Hezbollah drones is unclear. Hezbollah also fired a heavy rocket against Beit Hillel, but Israel downplayed this incident, saying the rocket hit an open area and there were no casualties.

Beyond strikes on Houla, Israel was reported to have carried out airstrikes against Taybeh and Rab El-Thalathine. Several other towns and villages along the southern border were reported to have been attacked by artillery shells.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.