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War looms for Lebanon as border escalation intensifies

Cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah have been escalating in recent days amid fear of a full-blown war.

This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adayseh during Israeli bombardment, Jan. 14, 2024.
This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adayseh during Israeli bombardment, Jan. 14, 2024. — JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

BEIRUT — Cross-border fire between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah is intensifying amid the growing risk of a serious escalation that could lead to an expansion of the war between the two sides.

The Israeli army on Tuesday launched at least 16 airstrikes on a valley in south Lebanon, in one of the most intense bombardment of a single location since cross-border hostilities began in early October, Lebanese security sources told Reuters.

The Israeli army confirmed the strikes, saying in a post on the X platform that its forces successfully conducted a “combined attack” using fighter jets and artillery against dozens of positions, military buildings and weapons infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Wadi Slouqi, which lies a few kilometers from the border with Israel.

The Lebanese sources did not confirm whether Hezbollah positions were targeted, but they said that the Iran-backed group had previously launched rockets toward Israel from Wadi Slouqi.

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