Israeli strikes cut off road between Lebanon, Syria; 5 Israeli soldiers killed

Israeli warplanes on Friday raided the al-Qaa Jousieh border crossing that links Lebanon and Syria, resulting in its closure, according to a Lebanese security source. The security source, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes fired four air-to-ground missiles at a central area on the international road in the Al-Qaa axis in eastern Lebanon.

"The missiles created a large hole with a diameter of about 15 m and a depth of about 5 m, which led to the road being completely cut off in both directions," the source said. Minister of public works and transport Ali Hamieh confirmed that the crossing is now out of service after the Israeli raid, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.

As per Lebanese military sources, there are five legal crossings between Lebanon and Syria distributed along the 375-km border between the two countries, Xinhua news agency reported. Another crossing, the Al-Masnaa point, was raided by Israeli warplanes on 4 October, resulting in the continued closure of the road in both directions, according to the security source. People are still able to make the journey on foot.

From 23 September to 24 October, Lebanese General Security recorded 430,000 individuals crossing on foot at the Al-Masnaa border point, comprising both Lebanese citizens and displaced Syrians.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday said in a statement that five soldiers were killed and four others seriously injured by a rocket hit in southern Lebanon on Thursday night. The dead, including two officers, were reservists from the 8th Armored Brigade, according to the IDF.

The soldiers were hit by a rocket launched by Hezbollah in front of a house in a Lebanese village, while the troops were accepting a logistics supply, according to the Israel's state-owned Kan TV News. The channel added that seven Israeli soldiers sustained moderate injuries while 10 others were lightly injured during the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

The incident brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday to 10, with 11 seriously wounded. In a separate statement, the IDF said that the Israeli Air Force killed Abbas Adnan Moslem, commander at Hezbollah's Radwan elite unit, in southern Lebanon on Thursday. The statement noted that throughout Thursday, the Israeli military struck over 200 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

A rocket fired from Lebanon also hit the Druze town of Majid al-Krum in northern Israel, injuring at least five people, including two in critical condition, Israeli sources reported Friday. The IDF said the strike was part of a barrage that included about 30 rockets, which were launched from Lebanon at locations in the Upper Galilee area.

"Some of them were intercepted," the IDF said, adding, "hits were identified." Video footage on social media showed the rocket hit a fitness club in the town, Xinhua news agency reported. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service reported that a woman in her 20s and another person were critically injured, and three others sustained moderate-to-serious wounds.