Israeli airstikes kill two Lebanese soldiers, injure two UN peacekeepers

An Israeli airstrike killed two Lebanese soldiers and wounded three other troops on Friday, Lebanon's military said, an incident that entangles the country's official army in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The Lebanese army said the Israeli airstrike hit a building near a military checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province in southern Lebanon. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The attack on the Lebanese army comes just hours after Israeli troops fired on the headquarters of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second time in as many days.

Lebanon's army has largely stayed on the sidelines of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in hopes of preventing it from spiralling out of control. After Israel troops launched their ground invasion in southern Lebanon, Lebanese troops withdrew some 5 kilometres from their observation posts along the border.

But as Isra