Massacres in southern Lebanon as Hochstein expected in Israel for ceasefire talks

At least eight people were killed and 21 injured in a preliminary toll from Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon late on Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday, as Israeli ground forces clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the border town of Khiam.

The strikes hit the southern town of Sarafand, where rescue workers continued to search for survivors and clear the debris.

After an initial attack, which had levelled several buildings in the area and forced appeals for blood donations from nearby hospitals, and efforts to clear debris were still underway, Israel launched another series of raids, according to local media reports.

"The Israeli enemy raid on Sarafand this evening has, according to a provisional toll, left eight dead and 21 wounded," a ministry statement said.

The strikes marked the second deadly attack on the town since Sunday.

An earlier strike further north in the Sidon suburb of Haret Saida had killed six people and wounded 37, according to a new toll from the ministry.

In the large town of Khiam — some six kilometres from the southern border — several Lebanese families were reported missing after an Israeli ground invasion, according to the Lebanese news site L'Orient Today.

The report said that at least 20 people, including children, were missing "since an Israeli force entered the area, and their homes came under shelling".

Israeli tanks ploughed into Khiam in the "most extensive land operation" since the ground invasion of southern Lebanon began, with forces attempting to push further into the area under heavy cover from fire from warplanes, drones, artillery, and machine guns.

Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli forces carried out a series of air attacks on Khiam later on Tuesday and launched a large-scale sweep "using heavy and medium weaponry".

Hezbollah said on the same day that it had targeted Israeli soldiers in Khiam, Marwahin and Kfar Kila. The group said it had destroyed two tanks using guided missiles and targeted Israeli troops south and southwest of Khiam with rockets and artillery.

The group claims that Israeli forces have yet to assert full control over any village in Lebanon, weeks into the invasion, amid repeated operations to repel Israeli infiltration attempts.

The large town of Khiam holds symbolic significance as it was home to a notorious prison run by the South Lebanon Army, an Israeli proxy militia, during Israel's occupation of south Lebanon.

Israeli troops withdrew from the south Lebanon region in 2000 after 22 years.

Hezbollah said it had also engaged in cross-border fire against military bases in northern Israel.

Israeli media reported that a drone exploded in a factory producing aircraft spare parts in the industrial zone in Nahariya, northern Israel.

"A drone hit a factory that produces aircraft components in the northern industrial zone in Nahariya this morning, without sirens sounding," Kan TV reported. 

Israeli media also reported a power outage in the army's positions on the border line as a result of the shelling from Lebanon. 

The latest attacks came as two senior advisers to US President Joe Biden are expected to arrive in Israel on Thursday to try to close a deal that would end the war in Lebanon, according to an Axios report.

Israel's attacks on Lebanon, which began on 8 October 2023, have so far killed more than 2,787 people and wounded over 12,772, according to official figures released on Tuesday.