At least 10 killed in Israeli strike near city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon

Two Israeli soldiers wounded in a barrage of missiles fired by Hezbollah in retaliation

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At least 10 people were killed – including two children and their mother – and five injured in an Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon overnight, the Lebanese Ministry of Health has said.

The strike was near a residential building in an industrial area close to the city of Nabatieh. All of the victims are believed to be Syrian and from the same family. The Israeli military claimed it was attempting to strike a Hezbollah weapons depot, which is situated next to the residential building.

The strike is among the deadliest in Lebanon since cross-border strikes began between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on October 8.

The National visited the site after the strike, which had a tight security presence, children's toys, clothes, and shoes could be seen in the wreckage.

Jets could be heard above, later setting off sonic booms that rattled windows in the area.

The strike on Wadi Al Kfour flattened the residential building while causing some damage to the warehouse that Israel claimed held weapons. A local security official, believed to be from Hezbollah, said the strike hit the residential building next to the warehouse.

A local businessman The National spoke to questioned the Israeli statement, saying that a strike on a weapons' depot would have caused an explosion.

Israel also claimed on Saturday that it killed Hussein Ibrahim Kassab, a commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan force in a drone strike on Tyre district, in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the death. However, Lebanon's Ministry of Health said a man was killed in an Israeli strike on Tyre district while riding a motorbike, without confirming his identity.

Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a rocket attack from Lebanon, the Israeli military said, adding that a total of 55 rockets had been fired in the latest strikes from Lebanon.

The strikes started multiple fires in Ayelet HaShahar in northern Israel.

“As a result of the projectiles fired into Israel, multiple fires were ignited in the area and Israel Fire and Rescue Services are currently operating at the scene to extinguish them,” the army said.

Some of the rockets struck open areas and no injuries were reported, it said.

The army added that earlier on Saturday two soldiers were injured as a result of a rocket that crossed from Lebanon and fell in the area of Misgav Am. The soldiers were evacuated to hospital, it said.

Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah said it carried out several attacks against Israeli military sites on the border.

About 550 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since a cross-border conflict broke out in October in parallel with Israel's war on Gaza. While the majority of deaths have been Iran-backed Hezbollah members or allied fighters, dozens of civilians have also been killed.

Beirut has witnessed a flurry of diplomatic activity this week, with top US, French and Egyptian officials visiting the Lebanese capital in a bid to calm tensions.

The region is on high alert with Hezbollah vowing to respond to Israel's assassination of top commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut in late July, in a strike that also killed civilians.

Iran, Hezbollah's top backer, has also promised retribution for what is widely believed to be Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after Mr Shukr's death. Israel has not commented on the strike that killed Mr Haniyeh and has not taken responsibility for the assassination.

It was hoped that the restart of the Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha could ease tensions. However, Hezbollah this week said it would respond to Israel's killing of Mr Shukr regardless of the outcome of the Doha negotiations.

The latest round of negotiations in the Qatari capital took place on Thursday and Friday. Israeli officials attended, but Hamas did not take part.

Hezbollah on Friday released a four-minute video showing fighters riding motorbikes through what appears to be a vast network of tunnels stocked with missiles, accompanied by excerpts of speeches by the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah.

US envoy Amos Hochstein flew to Lebanon this week, saying it was vital to take advantage of “this window for diplomatic action” to end Israel's war on Gaza and continuing hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border. Mr Hochstein said he feared that escalations could spiral “out of control”.