Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill 16, wound 21, damage school despite ceasefire

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

Israeli drone and air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed 16 people and wounded 21 others, including paramedics, and damaged a school, Lebanese officials said on Wednesday, in the latest apparent violation of a ceasefire.

Two people were killed in drone strikes on the town of Mefdoun, while additional airstrikes targeted areas between Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Four more people were killed and three others injured in a separate strike that hit the home of a municipal council head in the town of Zellaya in western Bekaa, with rescue operations ongoing at the site, the agency added.

An Israeli strike also hit a car between the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Mifdoun in southern Lebanon, leaving two people dead, the same source said.

An Israeli drone targeted paramedics affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority in the town of Deir Kifa, wounding three of them, who were taken to nearby hospitals, the NNA said.

A separate Israeli airstrike on the town of Aadchit in the Nabatieh district killed one person, according to the same source.

The agency also reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Zahrani area killed five and wounded 15 others.

The Health Ministry said in a statement later that the strike on Saksakiyeh resulted in four deaths and the injury of 33 others, including six children and four women.

In the Tyre district, civil defense teams recovered two bodies following a strike that targeted a vehicle on the al-Haddathiya road near al-Siraj Secondary School between Wadi Jilo and Tayr Debba, the report said.

Israeli warplanes also carried out strikes on the towns of Rishknaniyah, Safad al-Battikh, Baraachit, and Qallawiyeh, causing severe damage to a school building in Burj Qallawiyeh, the agency said.

Israeli warplanes also carried out an airstrike on a residential home in the Bir Zbib neighborhood of the town of Doueir in the Nabatieh district, destroying it completely, NNA said.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army carried out about 60 attacks across Lebanon, killing five people and injuring others as part of ongoing hostilities since March 2.

Despite a ceasefire announced April 17 and extended until May 17, the Israeli army continues daily strikes in Lebanon and widespread demolition of homes in dozens of villages, echoing its years-long devastation of Gaza.

Since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,715 people and wounded 8,353 and displaced more than 1.6 million, about one-fifth of the population, according to the latest official figures.

Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, including some it has held for decades and others since the 2023-2024 war, and has advanced about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inside the southern border during the current conflict.