Israeli strike on Lebanon border village kills five civilians, injures nine

Five civilians were killed and nine injured in an Israeli strike on a border village in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said late on Saturday.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Israel have traded deadly cross-border fire on a near-daily basis since war broke out in October between Israel and the Gaza militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that the top US military general spoke to the commander of Lebanon’s Army about the current security situation in the Middle East.

According to the Pentagon’s readout of their call, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown and Gen. Joseph Aoun also discussed continuing efforts to de-escalate tensions.

“The US and Lebanon share a strong commitment to regional security and stability,” Joint Staff Spokesman Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said.

The pair had a similar conversation in December when they discussed the importance of the conflict in Gaza not expanding into Lebanon. At the time, Gen. Brown reaffirmed the US government’s strong support for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Pentagon and Biden administration officials said the deployment of thousands of US troops to the region, as well as warships off the coast of Israel, were meant to deter Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups from opening a second front on Israel.

Around 200 Hezbollah fighters have been killed, along with at least a dozen Lebanese civilians as a result of Israeli strikes. Hezbollah’s attacks have reportedly killed at least 10 Israeli soldiers and several civilians.