BEIRUT, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Five Lebanese soldiers were wounded -- two critically -- in an Israeli airstrike targeting their movement in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the Lebanese army said.

In a statement, the army command said the soldiers sustained varying injuries when an Israeli drone strike hit them as they were traveling by car and motorcycle in the Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr area of the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon.

The wounded were transferred to a hospital for treatment, the statement added.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets from Lebanon toward Israel on March 2, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024. Israel subsequently launched a military campaign against the group, carrying out intensive airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as in Beirut's southern suburbs.