Hezbollah says it launched rockets at Kiryat Shmona, an Israeli border town, in response to its strikes on Lebanon’s southern al-Habbariyeh village.
Those Israeli strikes killed seven people.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah have been exchanging near-daily fire across the border since October.
Iran-aligned Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, the Palestinian freedom fighters.
The Israeli military claimed Hezbollah launched about 30 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel on Wednesday.
Israeli emergency services said a 25-year-old factory worker in Kiryat Shmona was killed.
The Israeli army’s attacks on al-Habbariyeh hit a paramedic centre linked to a Lebanese Sunni Muslim group.
The Emergency and Relief Corps said the victims were volunteers.
Reporting from al-Habbariyeh, Al-Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said Israeli strikes killed young men and “destroyed” the emergency health centre.
“People here tell us that the men inside the building were paramedics, volunteers and university students. All of them are in their early 20s,” Khodr said.
“They were helping the people in this border region where we’ve seen daily exchanges of fire between Israel and … Hezbollah.”
Israeli army claimed it had killed a significant operative, but Khodr reported that locals said “That is nothing but fabricated lies … this was a civilian target”.
Hezbollah promised to avenge the attack, saying it “will not pass without punishment”.
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Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, on Wednesday, condemned the air strike.
“These unacceptable attacks violate international laws and norms, especially the Geneva Convention,” it stated.
The Geneva Convention stresses the neutrality of health centres and health workers.
Khodr reported this was not the first time the Israeli army had attacked a health centre in the ongoing confrontations.
“We’ve seen numerous attacks against health centres, especially in front-line villages and we have seen paramedics killed.”
The Israeli army claimed it struck “a military building” and killed a member of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, a Lebanese political and armed outfit.
“These people will tell you that Israel’s strategy from day one has been to depopulate villages close to the border,” Khodr reported.
“They are trying to create some buffer zone, to make it difficult for civilians to live here. Nearly 100,000 people have already left.
“In this particular village, people are still here, but there are growing concerns that it will start coming under fire,” she added.
Last month, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said Israel would pay a price “in blood” for killing Lebanese civilians.
This is signalling the conflict across the Lebanon-Israel border could intensify. (Al-Jazeera)
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