Hezbollah rocket strike injures eight IDF soldiers including Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich's son

Eight Israeli soldiers, including the son of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, were wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack in northern Israel on Friday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. The condition of five soldiers is serious, Israeli media reports said, citing the military.

The struck IDF personnel were stationed close to the Lebanon border. The IDF warning systems were able to give the ground units a heads-up before the rockets struck, but it was too little, too late. According to a preliminary probe by the IDF, the rocket landed before the soldiers could find cover.

The affected soldiers were attached to the Givati Brigade, an infantry brigade assigned to the 162nd Armour Division of the Israeli Southern Command. Finance Minister Smotrich's son was listed among the three who suffered minor injuries in the incident, the Times of Israel said in a report.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's state-run news agency reported that local fighters clashed early Saturday with an Israeli force that landed near the town of Nabi Chit, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon. There was no word on casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the AP's request for comment.

Israel has carried out waves of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a large presence but which is also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians. Lebanon's Health Ministry said 217 people had been killed by Israeli strikes since Monday and 798 wounded.

Roads in the Lebanese capital were choked with evacuating traffic as smoke rose over the city's southern districts. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff.