People walk amid the rubble of their destroyed home in the southern Lebanese village of Toul, June 18. AFP-Yonhap
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM — At least 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said, while the Israeli military said four soldiers were killed in one of the deadliest single incidents since the latest escalation began.
The Lebanese health ministry said intensive airstrikes since midnight had hampered rescue and evacuation efforts, reporting a preliminary toll of 18 dead and 33 wounded that was expected to rise.
Residents and Lebanese media said airstrikes and shelling hit several towns in the Nabatieh district overnight and into early Friday, in what Lebanon's state news agency NNA described as one of the heaviest bombardments in recent weeks.
Israel said the strikes targeted what it described as Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure across several areas of southern Lebanon and were carried out in response to repeated ceasefire violations by the Iran-backed group.
