Israeli raids led to the death and injury of hundreds in southern Lebanon (French)

There were dead and wounded on Thursday in a raid carried out by Israeli aircraft on a residential building in the town of Kafr Rouman in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened “military action if necessary.”

Hezbollah responded by targeting Israeli sites in the Shebaa Farms, the occupied Golan, and the Galilee.

Anadolu Agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that ambulances transported a number of dead and wounded from a residential building in Kafr Rouman to area hospitals.

Hezbollah later announced the martyrdom of two of its fighters.

A security source told Agence France-Presse that at least two Hezbollah members were killed on Thursday as a result of an Israeli strike that targeted a residential apartment in southern Lebanon.

The source said that an Israeli drone fired two missiles towards a residential building in the town of Kafr Rumman, near the city of Nabatieh, killing two Hezbollah members and wounding at least three others.

Video clips taken by residents showed ambulances rushing to the vicinity of the targeted building.

Kafr Rumman is located 12 kilometers in a straight line from the nearest border point with Israel.

After the raid, Lebanese Hezbollah responded by targeting the Yoav and Kaila barracks with Katyusha rockets.

The party said in a separate statement that it targeted the Barkat Risha site with two Burkan missiles, achieving a direct hit.

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that a missile salvo was fired at Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms and the occupied Golan.

Hezbollah said in a statement, "We targeted with missiles a gathering of enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Hanita site and achieved a direct hit."

Hezbollah announced in successive statements on Thursday that it was targeting the Israeli settlements adjacent to the border, including Kafr Yuval, “in response to Israeli attacks on villages and civilian homes.”

On the other hand, Israeli media reported that a rocket fired from southern Lebanon landed in an open area in Margaliot in the Upper Galilee.

Nasrallah and Netanyahu exchange threats

Earlier, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah vowed that Israel would pay the price for the blood of the civilians it killed, threatening that his party was capable of targeting Eilat in southern Israel.

According to Agence France-Presse, since last October, Israeli raids have killed 273 people in Lebanon, including 190 Hezbollah members and 42 civilians, including three journalists.

Israel admitted that 16 people, including ten soldiers, were killed as a result of Hezbollah’s bombing.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday renewed his threat of military action "to restore security on the border with Lebanon if necessary."

Netanyahu said, “We have a simple goal in the north (the border with Lebanon) which is to return the population,” referring to tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from their homes for fear of Hezbollah missiles.

He added, in a conversation with Israeli soldiers in the Mount Hermon area near the Lebanese border, "In order to do this, we must restore security, and this will be achieved... We will not be complacent in this matter. We will achieve our goal in one of two ways: militarily if necessary, and diplomatically if possible."

Escalation path

Since last October, Hezbollah has announced the targeting of Israeli sites, spy devices, and military gatherings “in support of Gaza and its resistance.”

The Israeli army launches air and artillery bombardment, which it says is targeting the party's "infrastructure" and the movements of fighters near the border.

The Lebanon front witnessed a major escalation on February 14, with Israel launching air strikes on several towns, killing at least ten civilians, in addition to wounding five Hezbollah members, including a military official.

The raids came shortly after the killing of an Israeli soldier in Safed by a missile fired from southern Lebanon.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies