Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel after deadly south Lebanon strike

A local official in Lebanon and state media said an Israeli strike on a southern village on Sunday killed several family members, with Hezbollah fighters announcing rocket fire in retaliation.

Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group have exchanged regular cross-border fire since Palestinian militant group Hamas's unprecedented October attack on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza.

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on military positions in northern Israel.

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Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike in Mais Al Jabal killed "four people from a single family", updating an earlier reported toll of three dead in the raid it said was carried out by Israeli aircraft.

It identified them as a man, a woman and their children aged 12 and 21, and said two other people were wounded.

A Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the strike killed "four civilians".

Mais Al Jabal municipality chief Abdelmoneim Shukair had earlier told AFP that three people were killed, saying they were a couple and their son.

Hezbollah in a statement said it fired "dozens of Katyusha and Falaq rockets" at Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel "in response to the horrific crime that the Israeli enemy committed in Mais Al Jabal".

It later said it fired dozens more Katyusha rockets at Israeli troops and vehicles across the border "as part of the response" to the Mais Al Jabal strike.

The Israeli army told AFP that "about 40 rockets were identified crossing" from Lebanon, "some of which were intercepted".

"At the moment, no casualties have been reported," it added.