Conflict in Middle East escalates, Israeli strike kills 12 medical staff at Lebanese clinic

An Israeli attack on a medical center in southern Lebanon killed 12 medical staff, Lebanese health authorities said on Saturday.The attack hit a clinic in the town of Calaviata, killing doctors, paramedics and nurses working at the facility, officials said. Another attack in the town of Savane killed two paramedics belonging to Hezbollah and its ally Amal.Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks on southern Lebanon on Friday. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that an attack occurred in the village of Miyeh w Miyeh near the port city of Sidon, killing eight people.Hezbollah also launched attacks on Israeli forces on Friday as part of what it called Operation Al-Quds Day. Quds Day is an annual demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause in Iran, held on the last Friday of Ramadan.Lebanon fell further into regional conflict last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran that killed Lebanese supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Israel has warned Lebanon that the country will face increasingly serious consequences if Hezbollah continues its actions. Defense Secretary Israel Katz said attacks on infrastructure were just the beginning. “This is just the beginning, as the Lebanese government and the Lebanese state will pay an increasing price for the damage caused to Lebanese state infrastructure used by Hezbollah terrorists,” Katz said.Hezbollah leader Naeem Qasim said on Friday that the group was prepared for a protracted conflict with Israel. “We are ready for a long confrontation and, God willing, they (Israelis) will be surprised on the battlefield,” Qasim said in a televised address.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun proposed direct negotiations with Israel earlier this week. However, on Friday he said he had yet to receive any response.