LAST UPDATE | 22 Mar 2025

TWO PEOPLE INCLUDING a girl were killed in an Israeli attack on a southern Lebanese town today, state media reported, after Israel launched air strikes in response to cross-border rocket fire.

“The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Touline resulted… in the death of two people, including a girl, and the injury of eight others, including two children,” the National News Agency cited the health ministry’s emergency unit as saying, describing it as a “preliminary toll”.

NNA had earlier reported a toll of one killed in Touline.

Heavy black smoke billows from a Israeli air strike in the southern Lebanese village of Sujoud in Iqlim al-Toufah. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of rocket launchers in Lebanon in response to cross-border rocket fire on Saturday.

“A short while ago, the IDF (army) struck dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command centre from which Hezbollah terrorists were operating in southern Lebanon,” it said in a statement, referring to the Iran-backed movement in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said three rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the region for the first time since a November ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned the country risked being dragged into a “new war” after months of relative calm following a November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said all Irish peacekeepers in the region are “safe”. 

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Harris, who is also the Minister for Defence, said he was deeply concerned about the latest escalation in violence and tensions between Israel and Lebanon. 

“I can confirm that Irish peacekeepers at Unifil are safe,” he added. “I am grateful to them for all they do as peacekeepers. It is absolutely vital now that all sides show restraint.”

- © AFP 2025; with reporting by Sinéad O’Carroll