WHO Verifies 12 Health Workers Killed in Israeli Strike on Bourj Qalaouiyé Primary Care Center

The World Health Organization said it had verified the deaths of 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses in an Israeli strike that targeted the Bourj Qalaouiyé primary health care center in Bourj Qalaouiyé (Bint Jbeil), Lebanon on Friday evening, and WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the 14 health workers killed in the last 24 hours in southern Lebanon marked a “tragic development” in the escalation.

“Lebanon: Israel announces 'limited ground operations' against Hezbollah”

France 24

L'Orient-Le Jour reported that the UAE responded to Iran after accusations that an American strike against Kharg Island had been launched from the Gulf state, and it said Anwar Gargash asserted that the country had the right to defend itself but “continues to favor reason and logic.”

France 24

The same L'Orient-Le Jour update said two Israeli strikes on Meifdoun and Majdel Selm killed five people and wounded seven, according to the Health Ministry, with a strike on Meifdoun (Nabatieh District) killing four and leaving five injured and a strike on Majdel Selm (Marjeyoun) killing one and wounding two.

In parallel, France 24 said Israel announced “limited ground operations” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where it said more than a million people have been displaced since the start of the war.

France 24 also said Israel told residents in targeted regions to take shelter after it “detected missiles fired from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel” and said defense systems were in action to intercept the threat.

L'Orient-Le Jour said the Quai d’Orsay denied any “French plan” to end the war, quoting France’s Foreign Ministry statement that “there was 'no French plan' to try to end the war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.”

In the same L'Orient-Le Jour account, it said Hezbollah announced that its fighters were engaging in “direct” clashes with Israeli army forces in Khiam (Marjeyoun) using light and medium weapons as well as rockets.

L'Orient-Le Jour

Naharnet reported that Lebanese authorities arrested a citizen suspected of having imported parts used to manufacture Hezbollah drones, and it said the judicial source told AFP that the businessman was arrested at the request of France as part of an investigation.

Naharnet added that the judicial source said the man had admitted to importing electrical equipment and delivering it to someone who could be a Hezbollah member but denied knowing what the items were used for.

Naharnet also said Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes, and it said Israel responded with a massive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion.

France 24 said Israel announced it was striking Tehran and Hezbollah positions in Beirut, and it described Israel’s post on Telegram as saying it had “launched a wave of large-scale strikes against the Iranian regime's infrastructure in Tehran.”

“Lebanon arrests man in Hezbollah drone case Lebanese authorities have arrested a citizen suspected of having imported parts used to manufacture Hezbollah drones, a judicial source told AFP on Thursday”

Naharnet

In Lebanon, L'Orient-Le Jour said the Israeli Air Force bombed Blat and Khiam (Marjeyoun) and the outskirts of Rachaya el-Foukhar (Hasbaya), where it reported two raids using several missiles, and it said Israeli artillery fire targeted Arnoun, Yohmor and Meifdoun (Nabatieh).

L'Orient-Le Jour also reported that Hezbollah announced a series of attacks against Israeli positions and troops, including rocket salvos targeting several military sites, and it said this marked the largest number of claimed operations in a single day since the war began on March 2.

Naharnet said that since Iran and the U.S. announced they had reached an agreement to end the war on Monday, there had been a sharp decrease in the level of violence in Lebanon, but it also quoted the Israeli military saying on Thursday that it would continue operating in southern Lebanon and “remove threats” beyond its so-called security zone.

Naharnet framed the arrest in the Hezbollah drone case as part of a wider investigation, and it said Hezbollah has been using fiber optic drones, which are resistant to jamming, in their fight against Israel since early March.