#israeli-lebanese-conflict

#israeli-lebanese-conflict

Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime. International humanitarian law demands distinction between military targets and civilians and civilian objects and insists on feasible precautions being taken to protect civilians. In addition, international law provides for specific protections for healthcare workers as well as people at heightened risk, such as the elderly, women and displaced people.

Overnight Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have killed at least four people, according to Lebanese state media and the government. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said on Sunday Israeli forces struck an apartment in a residential building in a northern district of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person and causing a fire. To the southeast of Sidon, in the village of al-Qatrani, three people were killed in another Israeli attack, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health.

A primary healthcare facility in the town of Burj Qalaouiyah was struck by Israeli rockets late on Friday, setting it ablaze and causing the structure to collapse on top of the staff inside. The strike killed doctors, paramedics and nurses on duty, according to the Lebanese ministry of health, which said it violated all international humanitarian laws in a statement.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa Valley have killed one person and wounded 29 others, the latest in a series of ceasefire violations. Lebanon's Ministry of Health announced that a 16-year-old Syrian boy was killed, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday. He was named as Hussein Mohsen al-Khalaf and was killed in a strike on Kfar Dan near Baalbek.

Harj al-Raheb, or the Monk Forest, lies on the southern edge of Ayta ash-Shaab, a Lebanese village right on the border with Israel. Its 16 hectares (40 acres) are made up of two adjoining woodland areas, known locally as the Southern and Western Hima, that once enjoyed a degree of protection for their ecological richness and cultural value. In early October 2023, these slopes were still thick with oak, carob, terebinth, and bay trees.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has rejected growing pressure to disarm the group, warning that Lebanon's sovereignty could only be achieved by ending Israeli aggression. Speaking on Monday from Beirut, Qassem said the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with a November 2024 ceasefire agreement before talks on a national defence strategy can take place.