Israeli strike kills woman and child in south Lebanon, sources say

An Israeli air strike killed a woman and a child in south Lebanon on Wednesday, sources in Lebanon said, days after Hezbollah said it would inflict a price on Israel for killing civilians in the conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The deaths add to the toll from more than four months of violence that has played out in parallel to the Gaza war, fuelling concerns of an even more ruinous conflict between heavily armed adversaries that last fought a major war in 2006.

The woman and girl were killed near Majdal Zoun, a village some 6 km (4 miles) from the border, according to two security sources and a medical source in Lebanon.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah said it responded to "Israeli attacks on civilian villages and homes, especially ... in Majdal Zoun", by firing Katyusha rockets at Matzuva, an Israeli kibbutz over the border.

The Israeli army said it had hit "a Hezbollah operational command center in the area of Mansouri", a village a few kilometres (miles) from Majdal Zoun. "As a result of the presence of Hezbollah weapons and ammunition within the command center, a large explosion occurred which most likely caused damage to the surrounding area," it said.

"The claim that the explosion caused harm to uninvolved civilians is under review," it said, adding that the Israeli army "takes significant measures to prevent any harm to non-combatants".

In comments broadcast by al-Akhbar newspaper, the father of the six-year-old girl killed in the strike said she had asked to visit her village, which they fled after the eruption of hostilities last year.

The Hezbollah movement has been trading fire with Israel since the 7 Oct attack by its Palestinian ally Hamas on southern Israel in a campaign Hezbollah says aims to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah announced a dozen attacks by its fighters on Wednesday.

The Israeli army earlier said its warplanes had struck three Hezbollah operational command centers in southern Lebanon.

It said Israeli army artillery had also fired "to remove a threat" in the areas of Alma al-Shaab and Dhayra, both villages at the border.

Hezbollah signalled on Friday it would escalate attacks on Israel in response to the deaths of 10 Lebanese civilians in Israeli attacks last week.

Israeli strikes since 8 Oct have killed some 50 civilians in Lebanon, in addition to nearly 200 Hezbollah fighters.

Attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers troops and five civilians.

The violence has uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.