Beirut [Lebanon], November 6: An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother, Lebanese authorities said, as the Israeli army said a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli citizen in northern Israel.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it responded to the Israeli strike, in which three girls aged between 10 and 14 were killed, by firing a barrage of grad rockets at the town of KiryatShmona in northern Israel.
It marks the first time Hezbollah has announced using that particular weapon during four weeks of clashes with Israeli forces, underlining the risks of escalation.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it would never tolerate attacks on civilians and its response would be "firm and strong".
"The enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters
Israel's military said its troops engaged a vehicle "identified as a suspected transport for terrorists" in Lebanon on Sunday, and it was looking into reports there were civilians inside.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister NajibMikati called it a "heinous crime." Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters Lebanon would submit a complaint to the United Nations over the killing of civilians, including children, in the attack.
Footage broadcast by television station al-Mayadeen showed rescue workers removing one of the casualties from the still-smouldering remains of the car.
A report by the Lebanese security forces said the children were killed when Israel targeted the car they were in as it drove between the villages of Aynata and Aitaroun.
Their grandmother was also killed and their mother was wounded.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the frontier since the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. It has marked the worst violence across the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006.
The Israeli military said an Israeli was killed on Sunday in an attack by Hezbollah over the border, without giving further details.
Mikati met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman earlier on Saturday and emphasized the importance of working towards a ceasefire in Gaza and stopping Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon, the state news agency reported.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
