Israel firing in south Lebanon kills over 200 since start of Gaza war

The number of people killed by Israeli fire into south Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza has risen to more than 200, according to an AFP tally.

Since the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel on October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed a near-daily exchange of fire between Israel's army and Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah, an ally of Gaza-based Hamas.

On Monday, Hezbollah announced that three of its fighters had been killed "on the road to Jerusalem" -- the phrase the group has been using to refer to militants killed by Israeli fire since hostilities began.

That took the overall number of deaths in south Lebanon to 202, according to AFP's tally.

The majority were fighters, with 147 of them belonging to Hezbollah, according to an AFP count of death notices issued by the group.

AFP based its overall tally on death notices issued by groups involved in fighting, including Hezbollah and various Palestinian factions, as well as official sources.

Israeli fire has also killed at least 26 civilians, including three journalists and two rescuers in addition to a Lebanese soldier.

The Lebanese army has not exchanged fire with Israel since hostilities began.

Hamas and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad have also each said they have lost 10 militants in the hostilities in south Lebanon.

Monday saw air strikes and artillery shelling targeting Lebanese border villages, with a high school damaged in Taybeh near the Israeli border, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported.

Hezbollah also said it targeted Israeli troops and positions.

The tally does not include the killing of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri and six other militants in a strike on a Hezbollah-controlled south Beirut suburb, which was widely blamed on Israel.

Hezbollah has also lost at least 16 fighters in Israeli strikes on Syria.

More than 83,000 Lebanese have been forced to flee their homes since hostilities began, according to the International Organization for Migration.

On the Israeli side, 15 people have been killed in the northern border area, including nine soldiers and six civilians, according to the Israeli army.