Woman, child killed by another Israeli strike on south Lebanon

A woman and a young girl were killed, and at least four others —  including three children — were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the town of Majd al-Zoun in south Lebanon on Wednesday.

The woman, Khadija Salman, was killed immediately, while the young girl, Amal al-Dar, was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries. Amal al-Dar was the child of a local paramedic.

The four injured were taken to a hospital where they are being treated for light injuries caused by falling debris, a medical source told The New Arab.

The Israeli strikes come exactly a week after Israel killed ten civilians in a single day in a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon.

Cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah started after the latter launched missiles "in solidarity" with Hamas's 7 October surprise attack on the Gaza envelope.

Thus far, at least 271 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 42 civilians, the remainder Hezbollah fighters, according to AFP. Israel claims at least ten soldiers and six civilians have been killed on its side.

Both Hezbollah and Israel contend that the others' casualty count is higher than admitted.

Fighting between the two has escalated in recent weeks, with Israel targeting more civilians and both parties striking deeper into the other's territory.

On 19 February, Israel struck two targets just outside of Saida — one of Lebanon's major cities some 50 kilometres from the border — injuring at least 12 people.

The Israeli army claimed it hit a Hezbollah weapons depot. It further claimed that there were missile sites in the northern coastal cities of Byblos and Kesrouane.

The Lebanese Ministry of Energy denied Israel's claims, saying the sites hit belonged to municipal water authorities.

In a speech on 16 February, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah promised a further escalation against Israel for its targeting of civilians, vowing that the country would "pay in blood."