Israeli bombing kills Lebanese army soldier, wounds three others

Israeli shelling killed a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and wounded three others on Tuesday afternoon, the Lebanese army announced, marking the first time Israel killed an LAF soldier since the beginning of cross-border clashes on 8 October.

The Israeli army bombed an LAF centre in the southeastern border town of Aadaysit, after which the wounded soldiers were transferred to a hospital, the Lebanese military said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Clashes on the border started two months ago after Hezbollah launched a rocket at Israel "in solidarity" with Hamas' 7 October surprise attack across Gaza's borders. The daily exchanges have grown in intensity and gone far past the border areas on either side.

The Lebanese army has not engaged in any fighting with Israel, as the Lebanese state has declared openly that it does not want a war with its southern neighbour.

Instead, the government has proposed a diplomatic solution to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, which it believes would also stop Hezbollah-Israel fighting.

Hezbollah has linked the cessation of cross-border clashes with a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

Fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border stopped almost entirely during the week-long truce between Israel and Hamas but resumed once hostilities in Gaza started again.

Head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, previously said the objective of his group's involvement in the conflict is to draw Israel's resources away from Gaza to its northern border.

Israeli officials have issued several threatening statements towards Lebanon, threatening that it will send the country "back to the stone age" if Hezbollah intervenes further in the conflict.