Two killed, scores injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed two people in the country's south on Wednesday, with Hezbollah announcing the deaths of two of its fighters, the latest cross-border violence amid fears of a full-blown regional war.

One person was killed and nine others wounded in a strike on the southern town of Marjayoun, the Lebanese health ministry said, revising downwards a previous death toll of three.

Another was killed and another wounded in an Israeli strike on the village of Blida in south Lebanon, the ministry said.

An Israel drone targeted a car in the village square, a usually busy area with many shops, state news agency NNA reported.

Earlier, the health ministry reported that an Israeli strike in Abbassiyeh, near the southern city of Tyre, wounded 17 people, including two teenagers and an eight-year-old girl, with four people in critical condition.

Hezbollah said it launched "volleys of Katyusha rockets" at the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel in response to the Abbassiyeh strike.

The Lebanese group claimed a number of other attacks on Israeli troops and positions on Wednesday, including with "explosive-laden drones".

Israeli forces and Hezbollah have traded near-daily fire on the border since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, killing some 570 people in Lebanon, including over 400 Hezbollah fighters and over 100 civilians.

On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to official Israeli figures.

In a bid to de-escalate the border situation, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne visited Beirut on Thursday, a day after a visit by US envoy Amos Hochstein.

Meanwhile, in Doha, ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed on Thursday, with top diplomats scrambling to avert wider conflict after Iran and Hezbollah vowed revenge for recent high-profile killings.