JERUSALEM, Jan 14, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli troops on Sunday killed four militants who crossed in from Lebanon at a disputed border area, the army said as tensions surge on the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war.

Since Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.

The Israeli military said that troops patrolling a contested border area "identified a terrorist cell who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and fired at the forces".

"The soldiers engaged and responded with live fire, four terrorists were killed," the army said in a statement.

Tensions along the border spiked after the killing earlier this month of Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in a Beirut suburb, in a strike widely attributed to Israel.

Violence on the border since October 7 has killed 190 people, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel's north, at least nine soldiers and four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.