Israeli strikes kill six in south Lebanon: state media

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on a town in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded seven others, state media said Tuesday, as fighting continued despite a ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli strikes Monday night hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town about 95 kilometres (59 miles) from capital Beirut.

The NNA reported the wounded were transported to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre.

Israel has intensified its attacks in south Lebanon as it trades fire with Hezbollah despite an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that aimed to halt the fighting.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2, according to health authorities.

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Lebanese leaders recently urged the US ambassador to Beirut to pressure Israel to halt its attacks during the ceasefire, though Israel has also reported coming under fire.

Israel’s military said over the weekend that one of its soldiers had been killed in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing its losses to 18 troops and a civilian contractor since the war began.

The NNA on Tuesday reported strikes near other southern Lebanese towns, and the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa valley.