Two people, including a member of the Lebanese armed forces, were killed on Tuesday in Israeli shelling in the southern part of the country, the Lebanese army and the official Lebanese news agency said.

In a statement, the Lebanese army, which is deployed in the border area, said that “the Israeli enemy bombarded” its position in the Adaisheh area, “killing one soldier and injuring three others.”

Chahal, the Israeli military, acknowledged that it was responsible, stressing that it targeted the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, in order to “eliminate an immediate threat”.

“Lebanese armed forces were not the target of the strike,” the Israeli military said via X (formerly Twitter), expressing its “regret” for the bloody incident.

He is the first Lebanese soldier to die since the near-daily exchange of fire on the border between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8.

The hostilities broke out the day after the start of war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.

The powerful pro-Iranian armed movement claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a series of attacks against Israeli forces and positions in the border area.

Israel is bombing border zones, emphasizing that it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

The Chief of the Israeli General Staff, General Herzi Halevi, said on Tuesday that his forces “act decisively against anyone who prepares or tries to harm Israeli civilians and soldiers” and that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price.”

Lebanon’s national news agency, ANI, reported yesterday that Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes were recorded in areas near the border between the two states, citing the death of a Syrian farmer during shelling on the farm where he was working.

Since October 7, hostilities on the border have killed more than 110 people on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 14 civilians, including three journalists, according to an AFP count.

At least six Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed on Israeli soil in attacks from Lebanon, according to authorities.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (FINUL), deployed in the south of the country, says its members have been repeatedly wounded in the shelling.

Commenting on the death of the Lebanese soldier, she underlined in a statement that “the Lebanese armed forces have not engaged in a war with Israel.”

He described the “very alarming increase” in hostilities in the area in recent days, fearing it would lead to “catastrophic consequences on both sides” of the border.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, required the Lebanese government to impose its authority over the entire national territory, as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah, which had powerful forces in the south.

Although Hezbollah has had no visible military presence on the southern border since 2006, under the decision, its fighters have been launching attacks against Israel from the border, in areas of which they maintain a network of underground tunnels and trenches, according to experts.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday that UN-sponsored talks are expected to take place in the coming months to implement Resolution 1701.

“We hope that during the next three months, we will have absolute stability on our border,” he said in a press release released by his services.