Lebanon... an airstrike kills 12 medical workers, and Hezbollah shells two Israeli army bases.
Key Takeaways
- Israeli airstrike hits a south Lebanon health center, killing 12 medical workers.
- Hezbollah launches drone and missile attacks on two Israeli army bases after midnight.
- The clashes are part of Israel's broader assault on Lebanon since March 2 this year.
Medical strikes and toll
An Israeli airstrike hit a health center in برج قلاوية in southern Lebanon, killing 12 Lebanese medical workers, with the death toll preliminary as rescue operations continue.
“Twelve Lebanese were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a health center in the south of the country, while Hezbollah launched several drone and missile attacks on Israel after midnight, in the context of Israel's ongoing assault on Lebanon since March 2 this year”
Friday evening's earlier strike targeted medics in الصوانة, part of an Israeli campaign described as ongoing in southern Lebanon since March 2.
The Lebanese News Agency, citing the Health Ministry, also reported additional casualties across the region: six people including a child were killed in a house hit in حي الراهبات in النبطية; two medics were killed in الصوانة; three people were killed in Bent Jbeil.
UNIFIL said shells fell inside the Nepali battalion headquarters in ميـس الجبل, and Al Jazeera's correspondent reported Israeli warplanes hitting تول and جبشيت in Nabatieh District, as well as a strike on عيترون and artillery around كفرشوبا, with a fierce raid on الخرايب.
Hezbollah cross-border strikes
Hezbollah announced it attacked with drones and rockets at multiple Israeli targets after midnight.
It said it targeted the Ain Shimer air defense base east of Kheshdia and the Ain Zaitim base north of Safed.
It also claimed to shell the Metula settlement in northern Israel, and to have targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers near الخيام, at Nimr al-Jamal opposite Alma ash-Shaab, in Yaʿara, at the Hill of the Reservoir in al-ʿAdiseh, opposite Maroun al-Ras, and in al-Humosiyah west of Blida.
Drone interceptions and Metulla strike
Channel 12 reported that three drones from Lebanon were intercepted as they infiltrated toward towns in northern Israel, with most of the rockets intercepted.
“Twelve Lebanese were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a health center in the south of the country, while Hezbollah launched several drone and missile attacks on Israel after midnight, in the context of Israel's ongoing assault on Lebanon since March 2 this year”
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said a rocket fell in Metulla, causing damage to infrastructure but with no reported human casualties.
Escalation and aims
The report describes the expansion of the American-Israeli war against Iran regionally to include Lebanon as beginning on March 2, after Hezbollah attacked a military site north of Israel, saying its action was in response to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and to ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.
Axios, citing American and Israeli officials, said Israel plans to expand operations to seize control of the entire region south of the Litani River, including dismantling Hezbollah's military sites and depots near border villages; officials said the Trump administration urged Israel not to bomb Beirut International Airport or state facilities.
An Israeli official told Axios that Tel Aviv is preparing to carry out a wide military operation to seize lands in Lebanon and push Hezbollah away from the border, asserting that Israel will do in Lebanon what it did in Gaza.
That official added that dismantling Hezbollah's sites and weapon depots in the villages is part of the plan.
