Seven civilians killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon

Cross-border rocket fire raises fears of a broader conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group

Eleven civilians, including six children, have been killed by Israeli strikes on villages across southern Lebanon, a hospital director and local security sources said, while the Israeli army said it lost a soldier in cross-border rocket fire.

While the rocket attack was not immediately claimed, the exchanges of fire - and the worst single-day civilian death toll in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities began in October - raised fears of a broader conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.