News / Lebanon

Israeli strikes kill 21 people in southern Lebanon

Monday, 28 October 2024 2:13 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 October 2024 3:22 AM ]

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Saida area, next to the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on Oct. 27, 2024. (AFP photo)

Israeli strikes have killed at least 21 people across southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

At least 9 people were killed and 38 wounded in a strike on Haret Saida, near the port city of Sidon, the ministry said on Sunday.

Seven people including a nurse and three rescuers were killed in the southern village of Ain Baal and five in Burj al-Shemali.

An airstrike destroyed the top floor of a three-story building in Haret Saida, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Israeli border, AFP reported. Nearby buildings were also damaged

The sector has become crowded with people fleeing other areas of south Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah in September.

Reports said that Israel did not issue any warning to evacuate the zone before Israel's strike.

In Ain Baal, the casualties included three emergency workers working at a center run by the Al-Riossala Association, a charity linked to the political party Amal.

A nurse and three other people were also killed, the health ministry said.

The municipal chief said Israel's deadly drone attack at Burj al-Shemali struck near a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Israel has been targeting Lebanon since October 2023, after Hezbollah announced the opening of a “support front” in response to the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.