Israeli strikes kill nine in Lebanon as Hezbollah fires rockets over border

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Israeli strikes kill nine in Lebanon as Hezbollah fires rockets over border11 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleDavid GrittenReutersSmoke billows from the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike on WednesdayIsraeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, authorities said, as the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah said it fired rockets into northern Israel. Lebanon's health ministry said the dead included two paramedics whose ambulance was hit in a strike in the southern Chehour area. A car was also struck just south of Beirut.

Meanwhile, Israel's military said it intercepted a drone and two projectiles that crossed the border. Hezbollah said it targeted a gathering of Israeli troops. The incidents tested a partial ceasefire agreed on Monday, which Lebanon said would see Israel refrain from bombing the capital, Beirut, in exchange for Hezbollah not attacking Israel.

The Details

Israeli and Lebanese diplomats held a second day of talks in Washington on Wednesday to discuss ways to shore up the deal. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that he hoped they would produce "an action plan on a track for security in , independent from Hezbollah". Lebanon was drawn into the war between the US, Israel and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south. A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on 16 April failed to stop the fighting, and last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify its strikes on Hezbollah and advance deeper into Lebanon in response to drone and rocket attacks on communities in northern Israel. At least 3,516 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry.

Its figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The UN says more than one million people have also registered themselves as displaced in Lebanon, where Israeli evacuation orders cover more than an eighth of the country. Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed on both sides of the border during the war.

What Experts Say

ReutersA funeral was held in Wardaniyeh, southern Lebanon, for six members of the same family who were killed in an Israeli strikeLebanese media reported Israeli strikes across the south of the country on Wednesday. The health ministry said four Syrians and two Palestinians were killed in a strike in the al-Housh area, which is just south of the coastal city of Tyre. The ministry also said that two paramedics were killed and a third was seriously wounded when Israeli forces "directly targeted an ambulance" in the Chehour area, which is about 14km (9 miles) to the east.

The ambulance belonged to the Risala Scouts Association, which is affiliated with the Amal movement, an ally of Hezbollah.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.