The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that at least one person was killed and four paramedics were wounded in Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, as Israel continues its attacks despite the ceasefire agreement in its war with Hezbollah.
In two separate statements, the ministry said that an airstrike on Arab Salim in the Nabatieh district resulted in one death and three injuries, including a child. Another airstrike on the town of Srifa in the Tyre district wounded five people, including four paramedics from Hezbollah’s “Health Authority,” after the strike hit near one of their centers.
The ministry reiterated its condemnation of these repeated attacks, recalling Article 19 of the Geneva Convention, which stipulates that medical facilities must be protected from attacks in areas of conflict, while the opposite is happening.
The Israeli army issued a new “urgent warning” on Sunday, ordering the evacuation of villages outside the “security zone” it established in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, issued a statement via the X platform addressed to residents of 11 towns in southern Lebanon, some in the Nabatieh Governorate, several kilometers north of the Litani River. Part of the Litani River forms the boundary of the “security zone” where Israel has continued its operations since the fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah came into effect on April 17.
Adraee wrote: “Urgent warning to the residents of Lebanon in the following towns and villages: Doueir, Arab Salim, Sharqieh (Nabatieh), Jebchit, Baraachit, Srifa, Dounine, Breiqa, Qaqaiyat al-Jisr, Qasiba (Nabatieh), Kfarsir (…) For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 meters away from the towns and villages to open areas.”
The official National News Agency reported a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon, targeting towns not mentioned in the evacuation warning. Beyond the Yellow Line
Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israel continues its attacks, particularly in southern Lebanon. Its forces are carrying out widespread demolition and bombing operations in border towns, where they have declared a “yellow line” separating dozens of villages from the rest of Lebanese territory.
On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned troops deployed in southern Lebanon that “any threat, anywhere, against our communities or forces, including beyond the yellow line and north of the Litani River (30 kilometers from the border), will be eliminated.”
According to the terms of the ceasefire agreement published by the US State Department, Israel retains “the right to take all necessary measures to defend itself at any time against attacks” by Hezbollah.
Two Israeli soldiers and an army contractor were killed, and dozens of soldiers were wounded in a single week in attacks, mostly carried out by drones, in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has recently begun using fiber-optic guided drones, which are difficult to detect and have a range of tens of kilometers, to launch attacks against Israeli forces in Lebanon. Hezbollah announced on Sunday that it had targeted “a gathering of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers in the town of Bayada with a drone,” stating that this was “in response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire and the attacks on villages in southern Lebanon that resulted in deaths and injuries among civilians.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared on Wednesday that Israel must “fully” adhere to the ceasefire with Hezbollah before direct negotiations between the two countries, under US auspices, can take place.
