Lebanon’s state-run news agency said Saturday’s Israeli raid targeted a vehicle in southern Lebanon, about 45 kilometers north of the shared border, the first deep attack on Lebanese soil since Israel’s war with Hamas began on October 7. reports AFP.

Official news agency ANI, which reported no casualties, said “an enemy drone targeted a truck that was in an orchard in the Zahrani region” on the Lebanese coast.

Daily firefights between Hezbollah and Israel have largely been confined to the border area between the two countries since the start of the war, triggered by bloody attacks on Israeli territory by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7.

This is the first time that an Israeli airstrike hit an object so far from the border.

Journalists could not approach the target object – a banana plantation, because the Lebanese army forbade access.

The attack was carried out before the speech of the leader of Hezbollah

The raid comes hours before an expected speech by Hezbollah’s powerful leader, Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled for 13:00 GMT (15:00 Romanian time).

Shelling continued on both sides of the border on Saturday morning, ANI and an AFP reporter in northern Israel reported.

Israel Armed Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Friday that Israel is conducting a “large-scale attack in the north” in response to the “infiltration” of three drones.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israel’s northern border, including three drone strikes, one of which targeted an Israeli army barracks.

Hezbollah announced the death of seven of its fighters on Friday, bringing the total number of fighters killed to 68 since it began shelling Israeli positions in solidarity with its ally Hamas.

According to AFP, during the cross-border clashes, the Lebanese side killed at least 90 people. On the Israeli side, six soldiers and two civilians were killed.

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