Israel Kills 13 Lebanese State Security Members in Air Raids on Government Facility

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York that “87 people were killed over the weekend” in Lebanon, as “More than 100 strikes were reported in the past 24 hours alone.”

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher stressed that the violence must end, tweeting “Over 100 strikes on Lebanon in 24 hours. Civilians killed. Families displaced,” and calling for “a genuine ceasefire.”

Al Jazeera

Haq said Lebanese authorities reported that two paramedics affiliated with the Islamic Health Committee were killed, and several others wounded, in airstrikes in two towns in the south.

The World Health Organization recorded 158 attacks on healthcare, resulting in 108 deaths and 249 injuries, since the start of the escalation between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces on 2 March.

Haq added that three hospitals and 41 primary healthcare centres remain closed, while several others operate only partially, and that six hospitals in southern governorates have yet to resume maternity services suspended during the escalation.

Lebanese State Security said 13 of its members were killed in Israeli airstrikes that targeted the Nabatieh government building, with the Lebanese News Agency reporting shelling around the government building, the Kafrjouz junction near a gendarmerie center, and the towns of Zebdine and Kfar Reman.

The General Directorate of State Security of Lebanon announced the “martyrdom of 13 of the agency's members who were continuing to perform their duties inside the targeted building,” confirming the Israeli raids targeted the regional directorate center in Nabatieh.

Al-Jazeera Net

Al Jazeera reported that a funeral ceremony was held in southern Lebanon for the 13 security forces members killed in the strike on the government building in Nabatieh, with bodies laid to rest in what is known as the 'Wadi’a Cemeteries' before later transport to their hometowns.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Nisiba Musa quoted the Lebanese president as saying the incident represents a 'blatant Israeli aggression' and an attack on state institutions and security agencies.

The same report said Hezbollah described the strike as a 'blatant aggression' against the state's civilian institutions and urged the government not to back down from full sovereignty and the Israeli withdrawal.

In southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry’s Emergency Health Operations Center said Israeli air raids killed 13 people and left 16 wounded, with the Nabatieh strike killing five including two Civil Defense medics and leaving two injured.

The BBC said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed “sadness and regret at the killing of two Civil Defence members” in Nabatieh, while the health ministry accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting paramedics.

The BBC also reported that the health ministry said 108 emergency medical services and healthcare workers had been killed in Lebanon during the war, with more than 140 Israeli attacks recorded on ambulances and medical facilities.

As Lebanon and Israel prepared for a new round of negotiations in Washington, the Independent Arabic reported that Israeli forces continued deadly attacks, killing at least 380 people since the ceasefire took effect on April 17, according to authorities.

The Independent Arabic quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine describing the ceasefire as “fragile and unreal,” while Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naeem Qassem pledged, “We will not leave the field and we will turn it into a hell for Israel.”