BEIRUT: An airstrike carried out by Israeli forces targeted a paramedics center associated with a Muslim group in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of seven workers and prompting a retaliatory rocket assault on northern Israel that claimed one life on Wednesday.
The strike occurred in the village of Hebbariyeh, situated in the Arqoub area of the Hasbaya district, amidst intense bombardment along the border from both Israeli military and Hezbollah forces.
Since the onset of the attacks on Lebanese territory, Lebanon had filed 22 complaints against Israel with the UN Security Council as of March 19. These complaints highlight Israel’s breaches of Security Council Resolution 1701 and urge Security Council members to denounce these attacks, restrain Israel’s encroachments on Lebanese sovereignty, and prevent the escalation of a wider regional conflict, as stated by the Foreign Ministry.
The seven paramedics were employed by the Lebanese Succor Association, all below the age of 30, with some being relatives. Their names were Abdallah Atoui, Mohammed Al-Farouk Atoui, Bara’ Abu Kais, Abderrahmane Shaar, Hussein Shaar, Ahmed Shaar, and Mohammed Hammoud.
The strike caused injuries to several others and completely destroyed the center where the paramedics were stationed. The assault elicited widespread condemnation from both politicians and the general populace.
The Israeli Army stated that it targeted a military facility linked to the Islamic Group in Hebbariyeh, aiming at an armed individual involved in planning attacks against Israeli territory and allegedly associated with the Islamic medical group.
The target, along with other armed individuals, was reportedly eliminated in the strike.
However, the Islamic Group refuted any affiliation with the targeted center, stating that the Lebanese Succor Association center was an independent entity unaffiliated with them.
Operating under the umbrella of Hezbollah, the Islamic Group has been engaged in military activities against Israel on the southern Lebanese front since October 8.
Following the Israeli strike, Hezbollah claimed to have retaliated by launching rockets at the Kiryat Shmona settlement and the 769th Brigade Command in the Kiryat Shmona barracks.
Israeli news sources reported over 30 rockets launched from southern Lebanon towards locations in Galilee, resulting in the death of a 38-year-old worker and several injuries when a factory in Upper Galilee was hit.
Hezbollah also claimed to have conducted successful artillery strikes on Israeli military positions near the Shtola settlement and Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Kfar Shuba hills, attacked an infantry force within the Ramim forest, and targeted spy equipment at the Miskav Am camp using sniper weapons.
The escalation followed Israeli drone strikes that killed two Hezbollah members in the Hermel region of the Bekaa Valley, marking the furthest incursion from Lebanon’s southern border to date.
Politicians and officials in Lebanon strongly condemned the Israeli actions, characterizing them as part of a continued pattern of aggression. They called for international condemnation and action against Israel’s violations of humanitarian and international law.
