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Lebanon06 September, 20262 min read

Israeli Airstrikes Kill At Least 11 In Kafr Rouman, Lebanon, Including Two Infants

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Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 11 people in Kafr Rouman, including two infants. Two paramedics were killed in a separate drone strike on a vehicle in Kafr Rouman.

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Israeli Airstrikes Kill At Least 11 In Kafr Rouman, Lebanon, Including Two Infants
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Airstrikes in southern Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including two infants, and injured five others overnight, Lebanese state media reported Monday. The strikes hit a three-story residential building in the town of Kafr Rouman, near Nabatieh, after midnight, with emergency teams recovering nine bodies from the rubble, including two infants, while five people were injured. In a separate attack, an Israeli drone struck a civilian vehicle in Kafr Rouman, killing two paramedics from the Islamic Risala Scout Association who were inside.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned by the escalation of Israeli military attacks in southern Lebanon, particularly in and around Nabatieh". Guterres also said he "condemns the mounting civilian casualties, including women and children killed and injured" as attacks intensified.

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UN warnings and competing death tolls

The UN chief’s statement came after three days of intensified Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon that killed 27 people and injured 69 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. UNIFIL said it recorded an average of 137 projectiles fired per day between August 5-16, including 208 projectiles on Saturday and 185 on Sunday, as tensions continued to rise. UNIFIL said "As tensions rise, civilians are once again paying the highest price" with many families displaced or forced to change their daily routines.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the United States to take urgent action to stop the Israeli strikes, condemning what he described as a dangerous escalation. In a separate report on the latest strikes, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes early Monday on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Rumman killed at least 12 people, including a paramedic, four women and two children.

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Displacement, hospitals, and stakes

The escalation described by UNIFIL came despite the renewal of the June 26 ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which UNIFIL said is tied to the disarmament of Hezbollah but did not specifically call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces. UNIFIL said UN Security Council Resolution 1701 remains the basic framework for restoring stability in southern Lebanon, and it noted that the resolution calls for strengthening the deployment in southern Lebanon of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL. Guterres said he was "particularly alarmed by reported Israeli strikes affecting hospitals, healthcare workers and public institutions" and by restrictions on humanitarian access.

In the same period of attacks, Lebanese authorities said an Israeli strike destroyed Salah Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, describing it as "a serious violation of international humanitarian law." The stakes extend to the future of UNIFIL itself, with UNIFIL’s mandate in southern Lebanon due to expire at the end of this year amid international debate over the force’s future and mission.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraA News