Fighting threatens to derail Gaza ceasefire talks as Hezbollah fires 'dozens' ... trends now
Fighting has threatened to derail Gaza ceasefire talks after Hezbollah fired 'dozens' of rockets in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed four people in Lebanon.
The Iranian-backed militia launched the salvo into Israel after the quartet, which included one child, were killed in an airstrike. It marks a further escalation in the conflict on the Jewish state's northern border.
It comes as the Israeli army said it had closed a key border crossing into southern Gaza to aid trucks after rockets were fired towards the gateway.
Meanwhile Hamas has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the efforts of mediators by inventing 'constant justifications for the continuation of aggression'.
The Israeli Prime Minister said today that if a ceasefire was reached in return for Hamas giving back hostages it would be a 'terrible defeat' for his nation and vowed to not to agree to their demands.
An Israeli soldier stands close to firefighters working to put out a fire caused by a rocket fired into Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, from Lebanon on Sunday
A civilian watches as firefighters dampen the flames in Kiryat Shmona, Israeli, after Hezbollah launched a rocket aross the Lebanese border
A white car which has the Israeli flag on its bonnet sits damaged after being hit by rockets in Kiryat Shmona
Smoke rises into the air in Kiryat Shmona after the latest salvo of rockets is fired by Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah on Sunday
The fresh outbreak of violence on Sunday comes as the conflict stemming from Hamas's terrorist atrocities which killed more than 1,400 Israelis on October 7, last year, shows no sign of coming to an end.
In the north fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on military positions in northern Israel.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike in Mais al-Jabal killed 'four people from a single family'.
It identified them as a man, a woman and their children aged 12 and 21, and said two other people were wounded.
A Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the strike killed 'four civilians'.
Mais al-Jabal municipality chief Abdelmoneim Shukair had earlier told AFP that three people were killed, saying they were a couple and their son.
Hezbollah in a statement said it fired 'dozens of Katyusha and Falaq rockets' at Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel 'in response to the horrific crime that the Israeli enemy committed in Mais al-Jabal'.
The Lebanese movement has repeatedly declared that only a ceasefire in Gaza will put an end to its attacks on Israel, which it says are in support of Gazans and its ally Hamas.
Both the United States and France have made diplomatic efforts to calm tensions on the
