World

Strikes seen in southern Lebanon from Israeli border

Plumes of smoke rose over the border area between Israel and Lebanon on Friday as tensions between the two countries remained high.

The Israel-Lebanon frontier has seen daily fighting but has stopped short of an all-out war. The wider region teeters dangerously toward a major escalation of the conflict, ignited by the Gaza war.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has been trading fire across Lebanon’s southern border with Israeli forces in support of their Palestinian ally, Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas after its fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 240 more back to Gaza as hostages, according to an Israeli tally.

Some 24,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the health ministry there, and around 1.9 million, or 85% of the population, have been displaced.