Israeli Strikes Kill Six In Kfardounine, Wound Seven, Lebanon’s NNA Says

Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Kfardounine killed six people and wounded seven others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Tuesday.

The NNA said Israeli strikes Monday night hit a house in Kfardounine, a town about 95 kilometers from capital Beirut, and reported that the wounded were transported to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre.

Al Jazeera

The Israeli army later ordered the residents of Arzoun, Tayrdebba, Bazourieh and al-Hosh to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes, while fighting continued despite a ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon’s state-run NNA also reported that Israeli strikes hit other southern towns and that the Israeli military struck the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa valley after ordering its residents to evacuate.

The Naharnet report said more than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2, according to health authorities.

In southern Lebanon, displaced residents told Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto that they would not leave again despite a sharp rise in deaths and intensifying Israeli strikes.

Al Jazeera’s report framed the situation as residents refusing to flee again while Israeli strikes escalated, with Hitto reporting from southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera

Lebanon’s call for external pressure also featured in the coverage, with the Lebanese president Jozef Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asking the U.S. ambassador to Beirut to press Israel to stop ongoing attacks.

The same report said the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on the country since March 2 has risen to 2,869, including dozens of deaths since the truce took effect on April 17.

It added that Salam said he asked Issa to press Israel to halt the ongoing assaults and violations, thereby enabling a firming of the ceasefire.

Despite the announced ceasefire, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two paramedics were killed and five others were wounded on Sunday after Israeli bombardment targeted two points of the health authority affiliated with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The Health Ministry said Israel directly targeted in two strikes the two points of the health authority, leaving one medic dead and three others wounded in Qlaileh, and leaving another medic dead and two others wounded in Tebnine.

The report also said Hezbollah announced it was shelling northern Israel with rockets and drones, while Israel continued to carry out deadly airstrikes especially in southern Lebanon.

It further stated that the Israeli army announced on Saturday that it targeted more than 85 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in several areas of Lebanon, by air and ground, in the past 24 hours before the statement.

Lebanon and Israel were preparing for a round of talks in Washington on May 14-15, with former ambassador Simon Karam—appointed by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun as head of the negotiating delegation—set to participate.