Lebanon Condemns Israeli Airstrikes After Three Civil Defense Rescue Workers Killed In Majdal Zoun

Lebanon denounced Israeli strikes after three Lebanese Civil Defense rescue workers were killed in the town of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese Health Ministry saying two consecutive Israeli airstrikes on April 29 targeted a building in Majdal Zoun and killed five people.

Reuters’ and other reporting in the provided sources describe the sequence as a first strike followed by a second attack while rescuers were responding, with the Lebanese Civil Defense spokesman saying three rescue workers were trapped under the rubble after the second airstrike and their deaths were later confirmed.

Al Jazeera

In the same incident, the Lebanese army reported that two soldiers were wounded in the second attack, which targeted soldiers, rescue workers, and two civilian bulldozers at the scene.

The Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also commented on the incident, describing it as part of a "sequence of attacks targeting relief and first-aid workers."

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the targeting of rescuers as a "war crime" and criticized Israel for ongoing violations of the current ceasefire.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported at least eight people killed across the country on April 29 due to the attacks, and it said that since March 2 the total number of casualties from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon reached 2,534 killed and 7,863 wounded.

The Majdal Zoun incident unfolded against a backdrop of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that did not stop airstrikes, according to the sources.

Vietnam.vn reported that despite the ceasefire, "airstrikes continue on a near-daily basis, especially in southern and eastern Lebanon," and it said Hezbollah forces responded by firing rockets and drones at Israel and in areas under Israeli control in southern Lebanon.

Al-Monitor

The same source quoted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun describing the attacks as violating international law and treaties protecting civilians, medical personnel, and rescue workers, and it added that Ramzi Qais of Human Rights Watch said the international community’s silence "does nothing but encourage the Israeli army."

Oz Arab Media similarly described the strikes as occurring in southern Lebanon in Majdal Zoun on Tuesday, where rescuers were responding to injuries from the first strike when they were trapped under the rubble by the follow-up attack.

MnAmerica placed the incident within a broader escalation timeline, saying the war spread to Lebanon on March 2 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the American-Israeli attack.

MnAmerica also said a ceasefire of 10 days went into effect starting April 17, and that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 23rd that he extended it by three weeks, while also stating that cross-border attacks continued almost daily despite the official ceasefire.

Lebanese officials and rights-focused voices condemned the attacks as violations of international law and as hostile acts directed at rescue and first-aid personnel.

“Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, while the photographer who was with her was injured, in an incident that drew official condemnations and accusations of obstructing rescue operations”

ANF

Vietnam.vn quoted Salam posting on social media that targeting Civil Defense forces while they carry out humanitarian duties is "a new war crime," and it said he stressed that the act "gravely violates the principles and rules of international humanitarian law."

In the same account, the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the incident as part of a "sequence of attacks targeting relief and first-aid workers" and said these acts show Israel’s ongoing violation of international law and treaties that protect civilians, medical personnel, and rescue workers.

Oz Arab Media reported that Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the targeting of rescuers as a "war crime" and criticized Israel for ongoing violations of the current ceasefire.

MnAmerica said Aoun’s office wrote on X that the attack violates international law because it targeted rescuers, and it added that civilians were also killed in the attack.

The sources also included a broader warning from Human Rights Watch researcher Ramzi Qais, who said the international community’s silence "does nothing but encourage the Israeli army" and urged Israel’s allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and EU member states, to suspend arms sales and shipments and impose targeted sanctions on officials alleged to be involved.

The sources present the Majdal Zoun deaths through different emphases, even when they describe the same core sequence of attacks and the same town.

Vietnam.vn frames the incident as part of a broader pattern, stating that "airstrikes continue on a near-daily basis" and linking the event to Hezbollah rocket and drone responses, while also quoting Salam’s social media language about a "new war crime" and Aoun’s "sequence of attacks targeting relief and first-aid workers."

BBC

Oz Arab Media focuses on the mechanics of what it calls the "double strike," describing tactics as "known as the 'double strike'," where an initial strike is followed by another and "often target civilians and rescuers," and it says human rights organizations have noted such deliberate attacks could amount to war crimes.

MnAmerica emphasizes the official statements posted on X by Aoun’s office, saying the three men were performing a rescue and first-aid mission following an Israeli airstrike on Majdal Zoun, and it also expands the incident’s toll by adding that the Health Ministry said two more people were killed in the same strike.

The Arabic-language outlet Al-Bayader Politic frames the same Majdal Zoun event by quoting the Lebanese Health Ministry’s wording that an Israeli air strike on Majdal Zoun "initially resulted in five martyrs" and specifying that among them were "three rescuers from the Lebanese Civil Defense" trapped under rubble.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam.vn account adds detail about the second attack targeting "soldiers, rescue workers, and two civilian bulldozers," while Oz Arab Media says the ministry did not disclose identities of the other two victims and that two Lebanese Army soldiers were also injured.

The sources tie the Majdal Zoun deaths to wider humanitarian stakes in Lebanon, including the continuing toll of casualties and the risk to medical and rescue operations.

“The Killing of journalist Amal Khalil, and Lebanon’s accusation that Israel deliberately targeted her, followed Israeli airstrikes that targeted the town of al-Tiri in southern Lebanon on Wednesday”

BBC

Vietnam.vn reported that the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least eight people were killed across the country on April 29 due to the attacks, and it stated that since March 2 the total number of casualties from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon had reached 2,534 killed and 7,863 wounded.

BBC

MnAmerica added that the Health Ministry said 2,534 people have been killed and 7,863 wounded due to Israeli strikes since the war began in March, and it also described Israel’s continued military actions and evacuation orders.

The same MnAmerica source also described Israeli claims about Hezbollah tunnels, saying the Israeli army said its forces found two Hezbollah tunnels built over about a decade, extending two kilometers, with openings connected to sites equipped with launch platforms directed at Israeli territory, and it said the army used more than 450 tons of explosives to destroy the tunnels.

In a separate but related humanitarian thread, Mondoweiss described Lebanon’s emergency services being pushed into "the worst stretch in their modern history" and said the Lebanese Health Ministry has recorded at least 103 health workers killed, alongside more than 238 wounded and at least 25 ambulances and civil defense vehicles destroyed.

Mondoweiss also described a pattern of strikes that it calls the "double-tap," where an initial strike is followed by a second once rescuers arrive, and it quoted a Red Cross paramedic saying, "That quarter of an hour is a gamble between life and death."