Beirut, 17 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The pro-Iranian Hezbollah launched multiple rockets at northern Israel overnight, amid growing tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets in retaliation for Israeli drone attacks on Tuesday, which resulted in the deaths of five Syrians, including three children, according to state media.

The children, aged between 5 and 10, were killed in the town of Am Toot, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The agency said two men were also killed in an Israeli drone strike on a motorbike in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on social media platform X that Hezbollah had shot more than 50 projectiles toward Israel.

The Israeli army did not report any injuries and stated that some of the rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open terrain.

In response, the Israeli air force struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, the military said on Tuesday evening.

The information from both sides could not be independently verified.

Tensions between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have escalated along the Israel-Lebanon border since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October, resulting in casualties on both sides.

There are fears that the conflict could spread as Israel wants Hezbollah to withdraw behind the Litani river, 30 kilometres from the border - as stipulated in UN resolution 1701.

The Iranian-backed militia only wants to stop its shelling once there is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Photo: EPA