A shell fired by Israel explodes over the southern Lebanese border village of Dhaira, on October 16, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

The Israeli army has struck Southern Lebanon with artillery shells and internationally banned white phosphorus munitions, killing four people, according to a report.

In a report on Tuesday, the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon said that earlier in the day, Israeli forces struck several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and banned white phosphorus.

The use of white phosphorus shells for direct targeting of enemy positions is prohibited under the 1980 Geneva Convention, which explicitly forbids their use against both humans and the environment, stressing that the practice can amount to war crime and cause widespread fatalities.

This is not the first time that Tel Aviv has used such weapons.

The attack came shortly after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel, wounding three Israelis, the Ziv Medical Center in Safed reported.

No group in Lebanon has yet claimed responsibility for the missile attack.

The cross-border attack came hours after the Israeli military said in a statement that it had killed four individuals who allegedly attempted to plant explosive devices on a border wall between Israel and Lebanon, releasing Israeli army reconnaissance drone footage purportedly showing the four people and the subsequent bombardment.

On Sunday, Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli military base with guided missiles in response to the Tel Aviv regime’s crimes and aggressions, killing and injuring several people.

Armed resistance is the only way to confront the Israeli aggression, Hezbollah said at the time, urging Israel to learn the important lessons taught by the Palestinian resistance.

Last week, fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance group in southern Lebanon also crossed the border and clashed with Israeli forces, killing three and injuring several others.

Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against Israel on October 7, in response to the regime’s violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East al-Quds and growing settler violence.

The surprise raid shook the usurping entity’s security establishment, leaving about 1,300 Israelis dead.

In response, Israel launched deadly strikes on the Gaza Strip. More than 3,500 Palestinians, many of whom children and women, have been killed and over 12,500 others injured in the coastal territory.

The military campaign has seen the Israel regime leveling entire districts and using banned white phosphorous munitions against densely populated neighborhoods.