An Israeli airstrike killed two Lebanese soldiers and wounded three others on Friday in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil province, according to Lebanon’s military. This incident occurred just hours after Israeli forces fired on the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second consecutive day.
These events, involving both Lebanon’s official army and the U.N. peacekeeping mission, have heightened concerns as Israel broadens its campaign against Hezbollah with extensive airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion along the border.
The Israeli military claimed it was targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon when reports emerged of Lebanese army casualties. Israel said it was investigating the incident but was “unaware of any Lebanese army facilities found in the area of the strike.”
Lebanon’s army, which has largely remained neutral in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, withdrew about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from border observation posts after Israel’s ground invasion began on September 30.
In central Beirut, rescue workers continued searching for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building following an Israeli airstrike that killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens the previous night.
The conflict has escalated since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on southern Israel, with Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, resulting in over 2,237 Lebanese casualties, including Hezbollah fighters, civilians, and medical personnel, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Both Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers are deployed in southern Lebanon to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. However, neither force has been able to prevent Hezbollah from establishing a presence in the border region.
As the conflict intensifies, concerns grow about its potential to draw in more parties and further destabilize the region.
