By Maya Gebeily, James Mackenzie and John Irish
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/PARIS (Reuters) -An Israeli strike killed three Lebanese troops in south Lebanon on Thursday as France hosted a conference to rally support for Lebanese state forces which are seen as vital to any diplomatic resolution of the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Lebanese soldiers were killed as they were evacuating wounded people on the outskirts of southern village of Yater, the Lebanese army said. They were killed at around 4:15 a.m. (0115 GMT), a security source said. There was no immediate comment on the strike from the Israeli military, which has previously said it is not operating against the Lebanese army.
The area is part of the border region pounded by Israel during its month-long offensive against the heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, in a conflict that spiralled out of the Gaza war.
With more than 2,500 people killed in Lebanon and over 1 million forced from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities, the Paris conference aims to mobilise both humanitarian aid and support for the Lebanese military.
The Lebanese army, a recipient of U.S. support, has little sway on the ground in Hezbollah’s strongholds in southern Lebanon. It recruits from across Lebanon’s myriad sectarian communities and has been regarded as a peace guarantor since the 1975-90 civil war.
Its deployment into the south is a key part of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 that ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The Paris meeting is set to reiterate that resolution 1701 should be the basis for a cessation to the current hostilities.
“There needs to be a ceasefire in Lebanon. More damage, more victims, more strikes will not enable the end of terrorism or ensure security for everyone,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. He said the conference would support the recruitment of 6,000 Lebanese troops and provide the army with key supplies.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Beirut could deploy 8,000 soldiers as part of a ceasefire plan but appealed for international financial support and training.
“The storm we are currently witnessing is unlike any other, because it carries the seeds of total destruction, not only for our country, but for all human values,” Mikati said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart on Wednesday that Washington had concerns about strikes against the Lebanese armed forces while urging Israel to take steps to ensure the safety of the Lebanese army and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, the Pentagon said.
Israel launched its Lebanon offensive with the declared aim of securing the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who evacuated their homes in northern Israel due to a year of cross-border rocket fire by Hezbollah.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been on a regional tour to press for an end to fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon, skipped the Paris meeting.
More than 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli offensive which has laid waste to the territory, according to Gaza health authorities. It was ignited by the Hamas-led, Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in another 250 being abducted, Israel says.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES, HEZBOLLAH ROCKET
Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah along with other top commanders and using airstrikes to pound its strongholds in the south, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel has also struck more widely. At least one person was killed in an attack on a vehicle on the main highway from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley, a security source said. Smoke was seen billowing from the strike on one of Lebanon’s busiest roads.
In northern Israel, air raid sirens sounded in Nahariya and explosions could be heard as Israeli air defences were fired to intercept Hezbollah rockets. Footage showed damage to a car, part of a projectile on the roadside, and a hole in the road where it struck.
Hezbollah announced several rocket attacks.
The Israeli military said early on Thursday that its “troops continue their limited, localized, targeted ground raids against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon”.
The Israeli airforce had “struck over 160 Hezbollah terror targets, including launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites throughout Lebanon”, it said.
Hezbollah said its fighters clashed early on Thursday with Israeli forces in the Lebanese border town of Aita Al-Shaab.
The Alma Research and Education Center, an Israeli think tank that specializes in the northern arena with Hezbollah, said 29 civilians have been killed in Israel so far as a result of Hezbollah attacks over the last year.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says 52 soldiers have been killed in Israel and southern Lebanon. At least 25 have been killed since the start of the ground operation three weeks ago.
Hezbollah on Wednesday indicated it had escalated its rocket fire into Israel, saying it had fired precision guided missiles for the first time.
The Israeli military said four projectiles were identified as having been fired from Lebanon, two were intercepted and two fell to the ground.
Israeli airstrikes pounded the southern Beirut suburbs on Wednesday evening, sending thick columns of flames shooting into the night sky one after the other, shortly after an Israeli military spokesman issued evacuation warnings for the area.
Another strike came with no warning, hitting the nearby office of pro-Iran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, the station said. It said the office had been empty since the conflict began. Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded.
(Additional reporting by Ahmad Al Kerdi, Emilie Madi and Laila Bassam in Lebanon; Clauda Tanios and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Kanishka Singh in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry and Michael Perry; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Lincoln Feast, Philippa Fletcher)
