Photo credit: Reuters
Israel’s air force carried out two airstrikes early Monday on a southern Lebanese village, killing at least 12 people and wounding others, including children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
The Associated Press reports that Monday’s strikes came amid a new round of escalation between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group despite a truce reached more than two months ago. The strikes also came days after Israel’s military said it is in “operational control” of the strategic Ali Taher hill that overlooks several villages as well as main roads leading to the city of Nabatiyeh.
The health ministry said one of the strikes hit a building, killing 11 people, including two children and four women. Eight were also wounded, including three children and a paramedic.
The ministry said that another strike on a car in the village killed a paramedic with the Lebanese Islamic Risala Scout Association and wounded two others.
The Israeli military said the strikes came in retaliation for two Hezbollah drone attacks that exploded while targeting Israeli troops on Lebanon from the area on Monday. It said the strikes targeted a Hezbollah militant trying to transport weapons to Kfar Rumman.
Hezbollah did not claim the attacks nor immediately issue a statement on the intensifying strikes around Nabatiyeh province.
Earlier Monday, Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning for a home in the village of Deir al-Zahrani and shortly afterward a building was struck.
In a separate statement also on Monday, the Israeli military said Israeli troops operating near the Crusader-built Beaufort castle came under fire by a Hezbollah member who was inside a house, lightly wounding two of them. The troops later killed the militant.
Kfar Rumman’s mayor, Abdullah Farhat, described what happened in the village as “a massacre in every sense of the word.” He blasted the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, saying that Lebanese leaders “signed deals and we are paying the price here.”
“There is an enemy that is not concerned about anything,” Farhat said, referring to strikes that have been ongoing since the deal was signed.
