Two Lebanese shepherds killed in Lebanese-Israeli border clashes

The bodies of two shepherds were found on Thursday morning in the border town of al-Wazzani, the latest civilian casualties in Lebanon as Israel and Hezbollah and its Palestinian allies continue clashing along the countries' shared border.

The head of the local municipality said that the two men, both in their early twenties, were killed by Israeli gunfire and that there were clear bullet holes in their bodies.

A UNIFIL source confirmed the death of the two shepherds but said that they were unable to verify the origin of the gunfire that killed them.

The killing of the two shepherds comes as clashes on the border steadily escalate, with seven civilians and at least 58 Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon as a result.

Hezbollah has said that its strikes have killed or injured at least 120 Israeli soldiers, while the Israeli government has stayed mostly silent on casualties they have suffered on the border.

Border clashes started after Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel on 8 October "in solidarity" with Hamas's attack the day prior. Rocket exchanges between Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions and Israel have been occurring daily since.

Strikes intensified over the weekend, with Israel launching a missile 16 kilometres into Lebanese territory and a Hezbollah-allied militia striking an Israeli house in the country's northernmost city of Kiryat Shmona.

Residents of northern Israel along the border have evacuated en-masse, while at least 29,000 have been displaced from Lebanon's border region by the fighting.

At least one Lebanese town, Dahayrah, has been nearly depopulated due to Israeli strikes and the continuing use of White Phosphorus, which can cause fatal burns and asphyxiation.

On Wednesday, a 16-year-old boy was killed by an Israeli drone strike near the Lebanese border.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that he is applying "all his pressure" to prevent war with Israel.

Hezbollah, seen as the primary decision maker in Lebanon's confrontation with Israel, has not said publicly if it will go to war with Israel.

However, the Lebanese militia has signalled that if Hamas's existence comes under threat by Israel, it might prompt further military involvement moving forward.

Head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak on Friday afternoon, the first time the leader will appear in public since the beginning of fighting with Israel.