BRUSSELS

Repeated attacks in Lebanon are putting civilians and humanitarian workers at serious risk, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said Thursday, urging protection for humanitarian workers.

Jan Egeland said an Israeli airstrike badly damaged the NRC office in Tyre, near a hospital, and it occurred during iftar, when families were breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"We are so relieved that no colleagues were inside," he wrote on US social media platform X.

The NGO had shared the locations of its offices with all parties through the UN, said Egeland, noting that humanitarian workers are legally protected and must not be targeted.

Egeland said attacks on hospitals, homes and aid facilities make it increasingly dangerous for organizations to deliver relief to populations caught in the crossfire.

"Humanitarian workers and all other civilians must be protected, always and everywhere. We call upon the parties to respect Humanitarian Law ... What we witness across the region are countless violations of these sacred principles," he stressed.

On March 2, the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, began attacking Israeli military sites in response to repeated Israeli attacks against Lebanon and the killing of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike.

Israel retaliated by launching a military campaign in Lebanon, carrying out airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and areas in the south and east. On March 3, it began a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.