Four rescue workers were injured Sunday in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon that hit two ambulances, according to the association that owned the vehicles and state media.

The border area between the two countries has been host to multiple exchanges of fire, in particular between Iran-backed group Hezbollah and Israel, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7 attacks.

Lebanon's National News Agency said the latest Israeli strike targeted two ambulances belonging to the Risala Scout association, which operates rescue teams and is affiliated with the Shiite Amal movement, a Hezbollah ally.

The association said "a drone from the Israeli occupation forces deliberately targeted... the two vehicles, causing moderate injuries to four paramedics."

It said the attack took place at dawn when the two ambulances were called to evacuate wounded in the village of Tayr Harfa, some three kilometres (two miles) from the Israeli border.

The Israeli army said it had used a drone to target a "terrorist cell that attempted to fire from Lebanon toward the area of Rosh Hanikra in northern Israel".

It said troops had observed "two suspicious vehicles" that arrived in the area, but said "the strike was directed at the terrorist cell and not at the vehicles."

Lebanon's health ministry condemned "a cowardly and barbaric attack".

Since October 7, at least 76 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes, according to an AFP tally, including 58 Hezbollah fighters.

Six soldiers and one civilian have been killed on the Israeli side.

Hezbollah said on Sunday that two more of its fighters had been killed that morning.

Rising tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border have raised concerns that the war could spill over into a wider conflagration.

In his first speech since fighting erupted between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused the United States of being "entirely responsible" for the war.

He also warned Israel against the "folly" of an attack on Lebanon, adding that halting its "aggression against Gaza" would prevent a regional conflict.