Latest on Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: 21/5/2024

On Tuesday, Hezbollah targeted a group of Israeli soldiers at the al-Raheb post, following the death of four of its fighters in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon the previous day.

Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been exchanging almost daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Additionally, on Monday, a fifth Hezbollah fighter was killed in an Israeli strike on Syria, and an Israeli soldier sustained “light injuries” in a Hezbollah attack on the Biranit barracks in northern Israel.

Hezbollah announced on Tuesday the death of one of its fighters, Qassem Saqlawi, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Tyre. The Israeli army described Saqlawi as a “commander of the rocket and missile array in Hezbollah’s Coastal Sector,” responsible for planning and executing rocket and anti-tank attacks on Israel from Lebanon’s coastal sector.

The ongoing conflict has resulted in at least 426 deaths in Lebanon, mostly among militants but also including 82 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.

The escalating violence has raised concerns about the potential for a full-scale conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, reminiscent of their 2006 war.