Israeli soldiers wounded in Hezbollah drone attack

Several Israeli soldiers were wounded when Hezbollah launched a drone attack from Lebanon on Sunday, both the Israeli army and the militant group said.

There have been repeated exchanges of fire across the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October, raising fears of a wider conflict.

The Israeli army said several soldiers were hut when its missile defences shot down a pair of "suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon" in the Western Galilee region.

"Two IDF soldiers were moderately injured, and a number of additional soldiers were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation," it said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces and adding that the troops were taken to hospital.

It was not clear from the army statement whether the soldiers were injured by debris or a successful drone strike.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, said it used "attack drones" to target an Israeli army "command headquarters".

In a separate statement, the group said it also targeted Jal al-Allam, an Israeli post across the border from the Lebanese town of Naqura.

A source close to Hezbollah, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, previously told AFP that the group considered the Jal al-Allam position a key target due to the presence of Israeli surveillance equipment.

In a statement of its own, a branch of Hamas's armed wing in Lebanon announced it had targeted Israeli "military sites in Liman and Khirbet Maar... with missile bursts".

Lebanon's National News Agency reported Israeli shelling and strikes at various points in the border area on Sunday.

The Israeli army said fighter jets had carried out an "extensive series of strikes" on Hezbollah targets in Lebanese territory.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, more than 120 people have been killed on the Lebanese side of the border, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also over a dozen civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israel says six soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed in the area. The first Lebanese army soldier was killed in exchanges on Tuesday.