Israeli Air Strikes Kill Ten Civilians in Southern Lebanon, Paramedics Among Dead
Ten individuals have been killed in southern Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes, according to Lebanese state media. The casualties include two paramedics from the state-run Lebanese Civil Defence emergency service, who were killed in Nabatieh while responding to an earlier attack that had claimed one life.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported six fatalities and seven injuries overnight when a house in Kfar Dounine was struck. The Lebanese health ministry explicitly accused Israeli forces of intentionally targeting the paramedics, stating that such actions constitute a "blatant violation of international humanitarian law and its full disregard for all international norms." The ministry noted that 108 emergency medical and healthcare workers have been killed in Lebanon during the ongoing conflict, with over 140 Israeli attacks recorded on ambulances and medical facilities.
Furthermore, an Israeli drone strike in the Tayr Debba area reportedly killed a Syrian man and wounded his wife as they rode a motorcycle. The Israeli military stated it targeted an individual fleeing after an alleged unsuccessful attempt to launch a surface-to-air missile at one of its aircraft. Hezbollah, in turn, claimed responsibility for drone attacks against Israeli troops in Naqoura, Bayada, and Houla in southern Lebanon, and a soldier in Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel.
The Israeli military has escalated its strikes on southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure, and accusing the group of violating a US-brokered ceasefire from April. This conflict began on 2 March, two days after US and Israeli forces launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader and hundreds of civilians, including 110 children in a primary school. Hezbollah responded with rocket fire into Israel, leading to Israeli air strikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities report at least 2,869 fatalities in Lebanon, with 380 occurring since the ceasefire commenced. Israeli figures indicate 18 soldiers and four civilians killed during the same period. Officials from both Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to meet in Washington to discuss ending the conflict, a meeting that will unfold under the shadow of the International Criminal Court’s November 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
