Israeli drone strike injures schoolchildren in south Lebanon

Three schoolchildren were lightly wounded in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday that targeted and killed a Hezbollah reserve fighter driving near their schoolbus outside of Nabatieh, south Lebanon.

The students sustained minor injuries from shards of glass which hit them from the force of the impact. Photos of the incident showed at least one of the students with bloodstained clothes being treated by nearby adults before being taken to hospital for treatment. 

The drone strike targeted a 35-year-old Hezbollah reserve fighter and physics teacher, Mohammad Ali Farran, on the road about ten kilometres from the Lebanese-Israeli border.

In Saida, 40km from Beirut, primary school students held a march in solidarity with their injured peers. Students waved Lebanese flags and held signs with the slogan, "The South bleeds."

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has been ongoing since 8 October after Hezbollah launched rockets "in solidarity" with Hamas's surprise attack a day earlier.

At least 420 people have been killed in Lebanon since October, including 82 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israel says that at least 14 of its soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed by fighting with Hezbollah and its allies.

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated in tandem with Israel's seizing of the Rafah border crossing in Gaza. Hezbollah has carried out more advanced drone and missile strikes within Israeli territory, while Israel has intensified its aerial bombardment of south Lebanon.

Hezbollah has said that it will stop fighting once a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza, while Israel has linked a cessation in hostilities to a withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from beyond the Litani River – some 30 kilometres from the Lebanese-Israel border.

Negotiations for a diplomatic settlement to the current hostilities between the two parties appear to have stalled, with analysts saying a decision on the Lebanese front will become clear after Israel has concluded operations in Rafah.