°®Âþµº

Mourners gathered in Majdl Zoun on Thursday to bury Amal al-Durr, the seventh child killed by Israel in south Lebanon since 7 October, and Khadija Salman, a woman in her forties, killed in the same strike.

Amal, a six-year-old child, and Salman were killed by an Israeli strike on a home on Wednesday, which also injured four others – three of whom were children.

Since Hezbollah-Israel clashes started in the wake of Hamas's 7 October surprise attack, at least 271 people have been killed in Lebanon, 42 of which were civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israel claims that at least ten soldiers and six civilians have been killed on its side.

Hundreds came to the small town of Majdl Zoun to pay tribute to the two victims, with Amal's father – a paramedic – praying over the coffin of his daughter.

"We were displaced from here due to the security situation. Today, the children wanted to return to the village, and it all happened," Hussein al-Durr said on Wednesday after his daughter was killed.

Amal's female relatives lamented as she was buried, a wreath and her picture laid on the grave site by her grandmother.

"My dear, my life, my soul," Amal's grandmother cried while clutching a picture of the girl.

Mourners chanted against Israel at the funeral, with a Lebanese member of Parliament decrying what he termed as a lack of justice for civilians killed by Israel – and vowing retaliation.

"This sacrifice confirms that our only option is to defend Palestine, Jerusalem and our own territory. Israel is Satan and America the large Satan," Ali Khreis, an Amal-affiliated MP for the Sour district, said.

Cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have steadily widened since beginning over four months ago, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory in recent weeks.

On 14 February, Israel killed ten civilians across southern Lebanon in what it said was a retaliation for Hezbollah's killing of one Israeli soldier and wounding eight others on the same day.

Head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a speech on 16 February that Israel would "pay in blood" for its targeting of civilians.

Western and international diplomats have been mediating between Hezbollah and Israel, desperate to head off a full-scale war between the two.

Israel has demanded the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from beyond the Litani River, some 30 kilometres from the two countries' shared border.

Hezbollah has repeatedly said it will not engage in any negotiations until a ceasefire in Gaza is made.