BEIRUT, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli military vehicles advanced along the border strip in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, constructing earthen berms and carving field roads up to 2 km inside Lebanese territory, as a UN agency reported that 7 children were killed in a single day amid intensifying hostilities.

Security authorities monitoring the field situation in the border region confirmed to Xinhua that the Israeli movements, which began earlier this week, extended along nearly 80 km, from the Naqoura axis in the west to the Kfarchouba Heights in the east, penetrating 1 to 2 km inside Lebanese territory.

Residents in border villages have fled. Witnesses described Israeli troops advancing under heavy gunfire in the border village of Kfarchouba, building barriers and digging armored vehicle positions.

Lebanese military and security sources said that the army has conducted a "tactical redeployment" from about 55 forward posts established over the past two months. The move aims to protect personnel and reduce risks amid intensifying Israeli attacks, sources said.

In a related escalation, Hezbollah claimed it struck an Israeli armored personnel carrier in the southern Lebanese village of Houla on Wednesday afternoon.

The attack follows Hezbollah's launch of rockets toward Israel at dawn on Monday, the first such strike since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. In response, Israel launched what it called an "offensive military campaign" against the group, conducting intense airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.

According to figures from Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health cited by the UN Children's Fund on Wednesday, 7 children were killed and 38 others injured within 24 hours.

The high number of child casualties coincides with renewed airstrikes across multiple areas of Lebanon, which have triggered large-scale displacement and worsened an already fragile humanitarian situation, the UN agency said.

It reported that nearly 60,000 people, including about 18,000 children, were newly displaced over the past 24 hours, adding to tens of thousands already forced from their homes. More than 12,000 families have taken shelter in over 300 facilities opened nationwide, with dozens of shelters already operating at full capacity. ■