BEIRUT, (PIC)
Several Lebanese civilians, including women and children, were killed and others wounded on Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes targeting towns in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, amid continued ceasefire violations and escalating field confrontations. Hezbollah, in turn, announced a series of operations targeting Israeli forces and vehicles.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that four people, including women and children, were killed and three others injured in an Israeli strike on the town of Zilaya in the Bekaa. Two more people were killed in drone strikes targeting the town of Mifdoun in southern Lebanon, alongside artillery shelling in the area.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had struck around 25 Hezbollah “targets” over the past 24 hours, including weapons depots, buildings it claimed were used for military purposes, and other infrastructure. It also said it intercepted attempts to launch drones and rockets toward its forces in southern Lebanon, with some landing nearby.
The Israeli military also issued evacuation warnings to residents of 12 towns in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa ahead of planned strikes, including Kfartabnit, Ghassaniyeh, Zilaya, Bazouriyeh, Harouf, Habboush, Ansariyeh, Qlailah, and Deir al-Zahrani, among others.
On the humanitarian front, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the death toll from Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours had risen to 17, bringing the total since March 2 to 2,702 killed and 8,311 injured.
The ministry also reported increasing attacks on the healthcare sector, with 132 incidents targeting ambulance and rescue teams, resulting in casualties and the destruction of medical centers, ambulances, and hospitals.
In response, Hezbollah said it carried out a series of military operations on Wednesday targeting Israeli positions and troop concentrations in southern Lebanon. In separate statements, the group said it struck Israeli forces in the town of al-Bayyada with a suicide drone and targeted newly installed technical equipment in the same area, reporting direct hits.
Hezbollah also said it targeted Israeli military vehicles in the towns of Houla, Taybeh, and Qawzah, including an armored personnel carrier and a Humvee, using attack drones. It added that it launched a swarm of drones at Israeli troops and vehicles near the town of Naqoura.
The group had earlier announced 18 operations on Tuesday, while the Israeli military acknowledged that five of its soldiers were killed and 33 others wounded in those attacks.
In the latest developments, the Israeli military said Wednesday that two soldiers were moderately and lightly wounded after two explosive drones launched by Hezbollah fell near its forces in southern Lebanon.
According to earlier Israeli data, five soldiers have been killed and 33 wounded since the ceasefire took effect on April 17, while Israeli military radio reported an escalation in hit-and-run operations by Hezbollah in the south.
Israel’s Health Ministry said 245 people have been injured on the Lebanese front since the temporary ceasefire began on April 16 for 10 days, later extended for three weeks starting April 24, despite ongoing violations and casualties from continued Israeli shelling.
Since March 2, Israel has been conducting a military offensive on Lebanon that has resulted in thousands of casualties and the displacement of more than one million people, amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.