Israeli air strikes killed at least 39 people across Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, as Israel increased attacks despite a ceasefire announced last month.
One of the deadliest strikes hit the southern town of Saksakiyeh, where an Israeli raid killed seven people, including a child, and wounded 15 others, among them three children, the ministry said.
The Israeli army said it had attacked Hezbollah members operating from a building it described as a military site. The military added that it was “aware of reports regarding harm to uninvolved civilians”.
The strikes came hours after an Israeli drone attack killed a Syrian father and his 12-year-old daughter in the southern city of Nabatieh, according to Lebanese officials.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the pair were riding a motorcycle when an Israeli drone struck them. After surviving the initial attack and attempting to flee, they were attacked again, killing the father. The wounded girl then moved about 100 metres away before the drone struck a third time, the ministry said.
Ministry condemns attack
A civil defence source in Nabatieh told The National that the father and daughter had been collecting supplies near Al Sabah Al Jadida Secondary School when the attack took place at about 10.30am.
Lebanon’s National News Agency later reported that the girl died of her wounds at Nabih Berri Governmental Hospital.
Hospital director Hassan Wazni told The National that the child suffered severe head injuries and wounds across her body.
The Health Ministry condemned the attack, accusing Israel of deliberately attacking civilians and breaching international humanitarian law.
Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah have continued exchanging fire since US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon on April 16.
Israel has carried out most of its recent strikes in southern Lebanon, saying it is attacking Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure.
