Israeli strikes kill 4, wound 20 in southern Lebanon

Four people were killed and 20 others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on several areas in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, according to an initial toll released by Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health, reported Xinhua.

The ministry's Emergency Operations Center said two people were killed and two others wounded in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while eight people, including a woman and a child, were wounded in the Rahbat neighborhood of Nabatieh.

In Arab Salim, two people were killed and six others wounded, including two children, while four people were wounded in Kafr Rumman, the ministry said.

The Israeli military said on X that the attacks were a "response" to two explosive drones launched by Hezbollah at soldiers operating in an area of southern Lebanon where Israeli forces remain deployed and which Israel has declared a "security zone."

It said it had downed one of the drones and that there were no Israeli military casualties.

The Israeli army also issued an evacuation warning to residents of Arab Salim, calling on people in a designated building and neighboring structures to leave immediately and move at least 300 meters away, saying the area was near a Hezbollah facility that it intended to target.

The Israeli military said its forces would continue operating in the area to remove what it described as threats to Israeli civilians and troops.

At least 4,358 people have been killed and 12,359 others injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health.