1 killed and 11 wounded in intense Israeli strikes on south Lebanon

Israel’s air force has carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern Lebanon city

NABATIEH, Lebanon -- Israel’s air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern Lebanon city Friday in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted underground assets of militant Hezbollah group.

Shortly afterward, another strike hit an apartment building in the nearby city of Nabatieh, killing one woman, wounding 11 and knocking out the building's top floor, according to Lebanon's state news agency.

It was not immediately clear if that strike targeted anyone in the building.

Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday’s strikes were more intense than usual.

“We are steadfast no matter how much you bomb us with your fighter jets and drones,” Hassan Ghandour, a Shiite cleric from Nabatieh, told The Associated Press at the scene of the strike outside the building.

Lebanon's president and prime minister condemned the Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, saying they violated the ceasefire deal.

The airstrikes on the mountains overlooking Nabatieh came in two waves, and bunker buster bombs were used, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said four people were lightly wounded in the airstrikes outside the city.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defense array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use.

The Israeli army said it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area.

There was no comment from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah suffered significant losses on the battlefield during the war, which left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction amounting to $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.

As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon and is not allowed to have an armed presence south of the Litani River.

Friday’s airstrikes were north of the river.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

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