Israel again strikes deep into Lebanese territory: state media

Israel on Saturday struck an aluminium factory deep in Lebanese territory, state media in Lebanon said, a week after its furthest strike since border skirmishes began last month.

"An enemy (Israeli) drone fired two missiles at an aluminium factory on the road between Toul and Kfour, setting it on fire," Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said, without specifying whether there were casualties.

But Kfour mayor Khodr Saad told AFP two wounded civilians were transported to a hospital in the village.

The factory is about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Israeli frontier.

Weeks of deadly skirmishes between Israel and armed factions in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah, have largely been limited to border areas since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.

NNA said it was the first strike in the Nabatiyeh region of Lebanon's south since the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

It also reported Israeli artillery strikes and air raids against several areas in Lebanon's south.

The factory bombardment comes after Israel on November 11 struck a pickup truck on a farm in the Zahrani area on Lebanon's coast, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the Israeli border, NNA said at the time, without reporting casualties.

Hezbollah on Saturday claimed to have shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone "using a surface-to-air missile", in addition to launching five other attacks on Israel's northern border.

While war continues in Gaza, "all resistance forces... will continue to put pressure on Israel," senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said during a speech.

"There is no question today of talking about a ceasefire on one front and not the other," he added.

The frontier between the two countries has seen daily exchanges of fire since October 7 when unprecedented attacks on Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, sparked war.

At least 90 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes since last month, according to an AFP tally, most of them Hezbollah combatants but including at least 10 civilians.

Six soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side, according to authorities there.