7 Injured In Israeli Airstrikes In Lebanon

(MENAFN- IANS) Beirut, July 21 (IANS) Seven people, including four displaced Syrian children, were injured in Israeli airstrikes on different areas in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told the media.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, said on Saturday that Israeli drones and warplanes launched an airstrike on a house in the southeastern village of Houla, wounding three civilians, destroying three houses and damaging eight others, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate incident, an Israeli drone launched an attack with two air-to-surface missiles on a tent belonging to a displaced Syrian, and a car parked next to the tent, in the Burj al-Muluk area, south of the southeastern town of Marjayoun, wounding four displaced Syrian children.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Al-Manara site with artillery shells.

Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, said on Saturday that a diplomatic solution between Lebanon and Israel is possible, calling for a ceasefire from both sides.

"The Lebanese and Israeli parties stressed the importance of UN Resolution 1701 as an appropriate framework for returning to a cessation of hostilities and making progress towards a permanent ceasefire," Tenenti told local media.

"The political and diplomatic solution is the only viable solution in the long term," he said, adding "We will continue to do everything in our power to reduce tensions and return to the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701, as the path toward stability and eventual peace".

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The level of tension between Hezbollah and the Israeli army has escalated recently, as the Israeli military announced "its approval of operational plans for an attack on Lebanon".

Meanwhile, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that no place in Israel "will be safe" from his party's missiles in the event of an outbreak of war.

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