One killed in north Israel as Hezbollah retaliates Jibsheet strike

Three citizens were lightly wounded Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the town of Jibsheet near Nabatieh, as diplomats raced to contain escalation between Israel and Hezbollah following a deadly strike that killed 12 youths in the annexed Golan Heights.

Hezbollah said it targeted a command center in Beit Hillel with Katyusha rockets in retaliation to the strike on Jibsheet. Israel's state media said one person was killed in the rocket attack in HaGoshrim near Beit Hillel.

Israeli emergency service said a civilian was killed in a rocket attack on the north and the military confirmed it was striking inside Lebanon after around 10 projectiles were fired from there.

A 30-year-old man was declared dead after he was hit by shrapnel, the Magen David Adom emergency service said, while the Israeli army reported its forces were "striking the sources of fire" after the projectiles were fired from Lebanon.

Hezbollah had earlier fired anti-aircraft missiles on Israeli warplanes, forcing them to retreat beyond the border, after they repeatedly broke the sound barrier over south Lebanon.

On Tuesday morning, Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters who was killed in an overnight strike on Beit Leef.

The Israeli army said it had struck overnight approximately 10 Hezbollah targets in seven different areas of southern Lebanon, and killed one fighter from the Lebanese armed group.

The army claimed it also "struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures, and a launcher in southern Lebanon".

In retaliation to the strike on Beit Leef, Hezbollah targeted the Jal al-Alam post with artillery shells and attacked a command center in Beit Hillel with an array of suicide drones.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed a "severe" response on a visit to the site of the deadly rocket strike in the town of Majdal Shams.

He was greeted by protests during the visit, which came after mourners gathered in the Druze Arab town to bury the last victim, 11-year-old Guevara Ibrahim.

Israel and the United States have blamed the strike on Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces since the war in Gaza between Hamas militants and Israel began in early October.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said a flurry of diplomatic activity has sought to contain the anticipated Israeli response.

Several analysts told AFP that a limited response was likely to be the case, with Israel wary of having to fight wars on two fronts.

The United States, France and others were trying to contain the escalation, Habib added, while Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that "talks are ongoing with international, European and Arab sides to protect Lebanon and ward off dangers".

On Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he was "confident" a broader war could be avoided.

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose country supports Hezbollah and Hamas, warned Israel against attacking Lebanon, which he said would be "a great mistake with heavy consequences".

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the Majdal Shams rocket attack, though the group claimed multiple strikes on Israeli military positions that day.

On Monday, Hezbollah said it had launched "dozens of Katyusha rockets" at an Israeli military site following the killing of two of its fighters.

The group later claimed additional strikes against military positions in Israel's north. Official Lebanese media said a Syrian national died from wounds after an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.

The 25-year-old Syrian civilian was with another man in a car that happened to be passing by when the strike hit a motorcycle in the area of Kfar Roumman, the NNA said. It was not clear who the intended target was.

Hezbollah in retaliation targeted Tuesday soldiers in Kfar Yuval with an array of suicide drones.

The cross-border violence has already killed more than 500 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens of civilians and soldiers on the Israeli side.

Hezbollah has said its attacks are in support of Hamas, and that they would stop if a ceasefire was reached in Gaza, where war broke out on October 7 when the Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel.

Months of effort have failed to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal, though mediators and Israeli negotiators met on Sunday in Rome to discuss the latest proposal.

"The negotiations on the main issues will continue in the coming days," an Israeli statement said.

Hamas, however, again accused Netanyahu of hindering a deal, saying in a statement that he had set new conditions in "a retreat" from an earlier draft.