Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill 9 as Bombardment Intensifies

Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, the latest casualties in Israel’s intensifying bombardment in recent days after capturing a strategic ridge that it has sought to control for months. The strikes in the village of Kfar Roummane targeted a building and a vehicle, the Lebanese state news agency said. One child and two women were among those killed and at least 13 other people were injured, according to health officials. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment about the strikes. The latest escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, began after Israel said on Friday that it had seized the ridge near the Lebanese city of Nabatieh , about six miles from the border. The ridge, known as Ali al-Taher, had become a focal point in the conflict , which reignited in March when Hezbollah fired on Israel after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran . Ali al-Taher sits above a sprawling underground Hezbollah base, and offers a commanding view across the valleys and roads of southeastern Lebanon. The capture of the ridge and intensifying strikes have fueled fears that Israel intends to prolong its occupation of Lebanese territory and push deeper into the country. The Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a video statement on Friday that the capture of Ali al-Taher marked “the completion of the process of consolidating our hold on the security zone in southern Lebanon,” referring to an Israeli-occupied strip of Lebanese territory along the border. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .