Beirut, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel will pay a "price" for the killing of 10 people, including five children, in southern Lebanon, the deadliest day of Lebanese civilians in four months of hostilities on the Lebanese-Israeli border, Allah said on Thursday.
Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday night killed seven people, including three children, in the city of Nabatiyah, Lebanese sources said. Previously, an attack occurred in the village of Savannah on the border, which resulted in the death of a woman and her two children.
The enemy will pay for these crimes," Allah politician Hassan Fadrallah told Reuters. "The Resistance will continue to exercise its legitimate right to defend the people. ”
Several fighters from the Lebanese armed group were also killed in multiple attacks on Wednesday, including the attack on Nabatiyah, according to the group and security sources.
Asked about the Nabatiyah attack, an Israeli army spokesman said Thursday that it was waiting for "further information on the incident, but we will update it when we have more details."
The conflict between Iranian-backed Allah and Israel coincided with the war in Gaza, fueling fears of a full-scale confrontation between heavily armed adversaries.
Both sides have stated that they do not seek all-out war and that the conflict has been largely contained in the vicinity of the border.
A source familiar with Allah's thinking said the attack on Nabatiyah marked an escalation for Israel but remained within the unwritten "rules of engagement."
Israel said on Wednesday it had responded to cross-border rockets from Lebanon that killed an Israeli soldier and hospitalized eight others in the city of Safad, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanese border**.
Allah did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Border tensions.
According to Israeli statistics, since its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, Allah has launched attacks on Israeli border targets on an almost daily basis, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250.
According to Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza, the Allah party said it would stop its operations only Allah when Israel stopped its offensive on the Gaza Strip. According to the health department of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, more than 28,000 people have died in the area.
Lebanon's civil defense said three children were killed in the Nabatiyah attack. The number of children killed was initially stated to be four, but it was later clarified that one of them was still alive.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack and instructed Chief Abdullah Bou Habib to file a new complaint with the UN Security Council.
The violence has caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
Israeli Defense Minister Yove Gallant discussed "threats and attacks carried out by Allah in Lebanon" with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin overnight, according to a statement from Gallant's office.
"Minister Gallant reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring the security of the northern border and the safe return of displaced citizens – whether through diplomatic channels or military operations," the statement said. ”
Referring to Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon, Fadrallah said: "Crimes like this will not allow the (Israeli) occupying forces to bring security to the settlers in the north, nor will they force Lebanon to accept its terms." The only option available is for it to stop Gaza's **".
Civil Defence rescuers were scanning the damaged ground floor of a building on Thursday morning in Nabatiyah in case more bodies or survivors were found nearby.
The first two floors were the most damaged, with household items scattered in the front yard: torn curtains, mattresses, plastic kitchen utensils.
Cross-border shelling has killed more than 200 people inside Lebanon, including more than 170 Allah fighters, about 12 Israeli soldiers and five Israeli civilians.