Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon kill two paramedics affiliated with Hezbollah

The state-run National News Agency reported that Israel carried out air strikes on more than 20 locations, including two villages in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army warned residents to evacuate and said it would take action against Iranian-backed groups there.

Israel has expanded its strikes on Lebanon in recent days, with the state news agency also reporting on Sunday that it had shelled several other locations in southern Lebanon.

The latest attack occurred despite a ceasefire in place since April 17 that was supposed to halt hostilities with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been launching its own attacks, mostly targeting Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, but also across the border.

A statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Health said Israel “launched two attacks directly targeting the premises of two health committees,” killing a paramedic and wounding three others in Karaway and another paramedic and wounding two others in Tibnin.

The statement condemned Israel’s continued “violations of international law.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces struck “more than 20 terror infrastructure” sites in southern Lebanon on Sunday, including Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and headquarters.

Hezbollah claims to have launched more than 20 attacks on Israeli military targets in southern Lebanon and along the border, often using drones.

– Death toll rises –

The Lebanese Health Ministry on Sunday raised the total death toll from Israeli airstrikes since the war began to 2,846, including 108 health and emergency workers.

Israeli attacks have killed dozens of people in Lebanon since the ceasefire.

Under the terms of the truce issued by Washington, Israel reserves the right to take action against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”

Its forces operate behind the Israeli-declared “Yellow Line”, which is about 10 kilometers north of the Lebanese border.

Residents have been warned not to return to areas south of the line.

On Saturday, NNA reported that Israel launched violent attacks across Lebanon, including one that killed at least seven people, and carried out several attacks outside Hezbollah’s traditional stronghold, about 20 kilometers south of Beirut.

Lebanon and Israel are preparing to hold a third round of talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday, with veteran Lebanese diplomat Simon Karam recently appointed by President Joseph Aoun to head the Lebanese delegation.

The first landmark meeting between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations, took place just days before US President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire, while the second round of meetings came as he announced a three-week extension of the cease-fire.

On March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in a US-Israeli attack, dragging Lebanon into the Middle East conflict.

LAL/LG/SMW

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.