Hezbollah says three of its fighters killed in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT (Reuters): Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on its Telegram account on Monday that three of its fighters were killed in southern Lebanon.

The statement gave no detail about how the three were killed but said they “were martyred on the road to (liberate) Jerusalem”.

Security sources said they were killed in an Israeli raid on two houses in the Lebanese village of Kafr Kila near the border where Hezbollah maintains security control.

Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel across Lebanon’s southern frontier since the eruption of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza in early October.

The Israeli military said on Monday it struck a series of targets in Lebanon, including “military sites” where Hezbollah was operating.

Israeli air strikes and shelling have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children, elderly and several journalists, according to Hezbollah and security sources.