Israeli Airstrikes Kill 12 in Lebanon Despite Ceasefire
Theo Al Jazeera
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people, including a child, on May 1, undermining a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Lebanon’s Civil Defense searched for survivors after widespread attacks that destroyed homes, a monastery and a school, while Hezbollah continued to strike Israeli forces.
At least 12 people, including a child, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, defying a U.S.-mediated ceasefire agreement.
Israeli forces killed at least eight people in the town of Habboush in the Nabatieh district on May 1, and wounded eight others, among them a child and a woman.
Lebanon’s Civil Defense forces searched through rubble after what Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto described as 'a series of large-scale airstrikes that destroyed a residential area' while reporting from the city of Tyre. 'The images from there are truly shocking, with buildings completely flattened.'
Hitto added: 'We see the same tactics across the country. There were attacks killing and wounding many others at least six other locations in southern Lebanon, including women and children.'
Four more people were reported killed in attacks near Tyre and Nabatieh, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. Israel also destroyed homes, a monastery and a school on May 1.
Israel issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents of Habboush, located north of the Litani River. Israeli military Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered residents to move at least 1,000 meters away immediately in a social media post before airstrikes targeted the village. A day earlier, the army struck the town without any warning.
At least 28 people were reported killed in Lebanon on April 30.
Israel says its strikes target the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, but a large proportion of the dead are civilians.
Hezbollah continues to attack Israeli forces and vehicles inside Lebanon, saying it targeted a Merkava tank and other vehicles, as well as soldiers in Sour. Israel still occupies areas of southern Lebanon, which it calls a buffer zone.
Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry’s emergency operations center reported that 2,618 people have been killed and 8,094 wounded since March 2. The death toll continues to rise despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire declared on April 17 and extended until May 17.
