Israeli airstrike claims two lives in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — An Israeli drone attack on a civilian vehicle on the Naqoura-Tyre highway in southwest Lebanon killed two people on Monday, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

The sources, who asked not to be identified, said that “a white civilian vehicle was attacked by two air-to-air missiles fired by an Israeli drone in the Naqoura axis, killing two passengers and setting the vehicle on fire.”

The sources added that a Civil Defense ambulance took the bodies to a hospital in the city of Tyre while members of the Islamic Health Authority and Civil Defense worked to extinguish the fire, which had spread to surrounding areas.

According to sources, Israeli drones and warplanes launched 11 airstrikes on seven border villages and towns in southern Lebanon at dawn and in the morning on Monday, destroying 10 houses and damaging about 30 others.

Tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border have escalated since October 8, 2023, after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rocket attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas' sudden attack on Israel the previous day. Israel responded with heavy artillery fire and airstrikes on Lebanon.