Israeli Airstrikes Kill 15, Injure Dozens in Southern Lebanon Despite Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 15 people and injured dozens on Saturday despite a US-mediated ceasefire, Lebanon’s Health Ministry and National News Agency (NNA) said.

In the latest attacks, five people, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential building in the town of Seir al-Gharbiya in the Nabatieh district, and Israeli strikes also hit an orchard in the Baqbouq area north of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, killing five and injuring two.

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The Health Ministry said at least 25 medical, nursing and administrative staff members at Hiram Hospital in southern Lebanon were injured in strikes targeting the immediate vicinity of the facility, and it said the strikes caused “various injuries” among staff members and resulted in “severe damage” to the facility.

The ministry said the strikes constitute “additional evidence of the Israeli enemy’s violation of international humanitarian law, which stipulates the protection of health facilities,” while the Anadolu Ajansı report said Israeli attacks continued across Lebanon after the ceasefire formally came into effect on April 17 and was later extended until the beginning of July.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that the strikes injured at least 25 staff members at Hiram Hospital and said the ministry described “severe damage” to the facility in the Tyre district.

SANA said Israeli airstrikes continued on several villages and towns in southern Lebanon, including an attack on the town of Shehabiya in the Tyre city that caused deaths and injuries, and it also said another strike on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr destroyed an entire house and killed four people.

Al Jazeera

SANA further reported that several Syrian labors were injured after a drone strike targeted citrus orchards in the town of Bazouriyeh while they were working, and it said Israeli aircraft struck the town of Rafid in the Rashaya al-Wadi district, killing one person and injuring another.

SANA also said the area surrounding Hiram Hospital in Tyre was hit by a strike that caused severe damage to operating rooms and medical departments, while the Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that the death toll from the Israeli offensive on Lebanon since March 2 had risen to 3,111 and 9,432 injuries.

In a separate account of the broader fighting, الجزيرة نت said Israel carried out air and artillery strikes on 44 towns, villages, and areas in southern Lebanon since dawn Thursday, killing 10 people and wounding 9 others, citing data from the Lebanese Health Ministry and the official news agency.

Hezbollah said it launched 60 attacks on Israeli targets on Thursday, and the report said the group brought its total Hezbollah attacks in response to ongoing Israeli shelling to 1,250 attacks since March 2 of the current year.

The same report said Hezbollah targeted six Israeli settlements in northern Israel including Kiryat Shmona (three times) and Metulla (twice), and it also said Hezbollah fired an air-to-ground missile at an Israeli helicopter in the border town of Ramia (Ramiyah) south of Lebanon, forcing it to retreat.

The report added that the broad Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since March 2 has killed 1,345 and wounded 4,040, according to the latest data from the Lebanese Health Ministry, while it also said Israel was enforcing a blackout on the results of Hezbollah’s attacks with media oversight and warnings against publishing photos or information related to casualties or targeted sites.