Israeli air strikes on a southern Lebanese town killed at least 13 people, including six children, on Monday, marking one of the deadliest days of bombardment in recent weeks. Lebanon’s health ministry said the dead included 12 people from a strike on a residential building in Kfar Rumman and one medic hit in a separate drone attack on a civilian vehicle, as reported by Arab News.
Fears are growing across Lebanon that a full-scale Israeli military campaign could be in the making, even as a June ceasefire was supposed to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Residents say the latest attacks came without any evacuation warning.
One woman, who said she had lost at least three relatives, described how the strike hit a home just as children were preparing for school. At the rubble-strewn site, schoolbooks lay scattered among broken concrete. Rescue crews worked through the morning with heavy machinery to recover bodies.
Eight-year-old Mustafa Farhat lost his grandparents and his mother in the attack. On Monday, workers were still searching for his father’s body while the boy remained in hospital with his injuries. His relative, Mona Farhat, asked bitterly: “What did they target? Do they want us to leave our land? They are mistaken.”
Israel’s military said it had struck individuals seen transferring weapons and that it was reviewing reports that civilians were harmed. It added that Hezbollah had launched two explosive drones overnight toward Israeli troops near the Ali Al-Taher ridge in southeastern Lebanon.
In recent days, Israeli strikes have intensified in towns north and west of the ridge, where families had returned after the ceasefire. On Sunday alone, at least 11 people were killed in attacks on three towns, and a hospital in Nabatieh Al-Fawqa was destroyed.
Since Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 people, including over 250 children and 130 medics, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Though the ceasefire reduced violence, Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Lebanon, carrying out strikes mostly without warning.
