Israeli strikes kill at least 19 in southern Lebanon

Israeli air strikes have killed at least 19 people in southern Lebanon, the country's health ministry has said.

Ten of them, including three children and three women, were killed in a single attack that hit a house in the town of Deir Qanoun, the ministry said.

Lebanon was drawn into the war on 2 March, when the Iran-backed armed Shia Islamist group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

The latest deaths come less than a week after the US said that Lebanon and Israel had agreed to extend a ceasefire by 45 days, with the two sides set to resume talks at the beginning of June.

Despite the extension, both Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire, especially in southern Lebanon.

Israel says it is targeting the armed group Hezbollah but civilians have often been killed, including women and children. Hezbollah has fired rockets and drones into communities in northern Israel and against Israeli troops occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military announced that another soldier was killed in an attack by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

In the statement, Lebanon's health ministry said that in addition to the deaths in Deir Qanoun, three people were wounded, including a young girl.

A further nine people were killed and 29 injured in Israeli air strikes on the Nabatieh and Tyre districts, the ministry said.

The number of people killed in the country by Israeli strikes during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since March has surpassed 3,000, the health ministry said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with a force of the Israeli army that tried to advance towards the vicinity of the town square of Haddatha, Agence France-Presse reported.