Latest on Israel-Hezbollah border clashes

On Thursday, Israeli aircraft targeted a residence in al-Naqoura and the vicinity of Kounin, a southern town, while artillery fire hit Wadi Hamoul and the area around Tayr Harfa. This followed a day when Hezbollah launched five attacks towards northern Israel and the occupied Shebaa Farms, prompting retaliatory strikes by Israeli planes on the southern border towns of al-Labbouneh and Mays al-Jabal overnight.

The conflict in Gaza, which began in October, has led to almost daily skirmishes along the Lebanon-Israel frontier. Efforts by international mediators to avert a full-scale war in Lebanon are ongoing, with the United States and other countries working to prevent the Gaza conflict from extending into Lebanon. Despite these efforts, hostilities between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces at the Lebanon-Israel border continue.

Hezbollah has declared it will not cease hostilities until a ceasefire in Gaza is established. The conflict has resulted in the death of at least 322 individuals in Lebanon, predominantly Hezbollah combatants and 56 civilians, as reported by an AFP count.

On the Israeli side, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians. The ongoing violence has sparked concerns that Israeli forces might consider invading Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, commented on Wednesday that the Israeli military was too “exhausted” for a comprehensive war, citing fatigue on multiple fronts, including the northern border, the West Bank, and Gaza. Nasrallah suggested that the Israeli army is experiencing a manpower shortage, pointing to signs of weariness within Israel’s society and military forces.