Israeli airstrikes in South Lebanon kill 13; shells land near UN Peacekeepers’ Nepali battalion
Another airstrike hit the southern border town of Bint Jbeil, leaving three people dead. In the coastal city of Ghaziyeh, a separate strike on a building killed two children.
KATHMANDU: At least 13 people were killed Friday night as Israeli airstrikes intensified across southern Lebanon, with shells also landing inside the compound of a Nepali battalion serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry Emergency Operations Center, one of the Israeli strikes directly targeted a joint emergency response point run by the Islamic Health Authority and the Islamic Risala Scouts.
The attack killed two rescuers and injured five others.
In the city of Nabatieh, an Israeli warplane struck a house in the Al-Rahibat neighborhood, killing six people, including a young girl, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Another airstrike hit the southern border town of Bint Jbeil, leaving three people dead. In the coastal city of Ghaziyeh, a separate strike on a building killed two children.
Meanwhile, artillery shells fired by Israeli forces landed inside the compound of the Nepali battalion serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the border village of Mais al-Jabal.
Nepal’s Honorary Consulate General in Beirut strongly condemned the incident but confirmed that no Nepali peacekeepers were injured.
The consulate said targeting a UN peacekeeping position constitutes a serious violation of international law and the principles protecting United Nations personnel.
Amid the escalating violence, Hezbollah said it carried out several retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets. The group claimed it launched rockets at Israeli troops and vehicles gathered in Wadi Hunin opposite the Lebanese border village of Markaba and at the newly established Blat military site in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah also said it targeted the Giva drone control base east of the Israeli city of Safed and fired rockets for the third time in a day at Israeli forces gathered in the settlement of Metula.
Later Friday night, Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area widely considered a Hezbollah stronghold, signaling further escalation in the cross-border conflict.
Israeli drones were also reported to have dropped leaflets over parts of Beirut, urging residents to oppose Hezbollah.
