Eighteen injured in Hezbollah strike in northern Israel after three fighters killed in Lebanon

At least 18 people were injured, two seriously, after Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles and suicide drones at an Israeli military facility in Arab al-Aramshe, northern Israel, the Israeli YNet news site reported on Wednesday.

Hezbollah said in a statement earlier that it had launched an attack on a "military facility" in northern Israel in response to the killing of three of its fighters, including two commanders, in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

The strike took place at 10:15 GMT using explosive drones and guided missiles, the movement said.

It said that the attack targeted a community centre that had been converted into a "military surveillance facility".

Arab al-Aramshe has been the site of intense fighting between the Israelis and Hezbollah since the start of cross-border clashes in October. On 17 October, Israel reported an infiltration attempt by Palestinian militants originating from the area. 

On Monday, Hezbollah detonated an explosive along the area's border fence, injuring seven Israeli soldiers it said were attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory.

On Tuesday, Israel said it killed two high-ranking Hezbollah commanders and another fighter in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said its "aircraft struck and eliminated Ismail Yusef Baz, the commander of Hezbollah's coastal sector", adding he was killed in south Lebanon's Ain Baal area.

Hezbollah launched an attack on a covert Israeli military post using precision-guided UAVs. The post was situated in a building within the Arab Palestinian village of Arab Al-Aramsheh. What do we call the presence of Israeli military personnel operating secretly in a Palestinian… https://t.co/dzUsxo8eul

— Jehad Abusalim جهاد أبو سليم (@JehadAbusalim) April 17, 2024

In another statement, the military said "aircraft struck and eliminated the commander of the rockets and missiles unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Force in Lebanon's central and western region", referring to the group's elite unite and identifying the fighter as Mohammed Shehoury.

It said the attack near south Lebanon's Shehabiya also killed another "operative of Hezbollah's rockets and missiles unit".

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported one dead in an Israeli strike on a car in Ain Baal, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the border, and said another "enemy strike" targeted two cars in Shehabiya, resulting in an unspecified number of dead and wounded.

Hezbollah added that Baz had been killed, without mentioning his rank or role, while a source close to the group told AFP that "the field commander in charge of the Naqura region" had been killed "in an Israeli strike".

Hezbollah and Israel have clashed almost daily since 8 October, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel sparking Israel's brutal assault on Gaza.

At least 368 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have also fled their homes due to Israeli assaults.

On the Israeli side, at least 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

Agencies contributed to this report.