Israel kills 19 more in airstrikes across Lebanon

- 217 killed, 798 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Monday, says Health Ministry

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

Five people were killed and nine others injured in Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the National News Agency.

The Lebanese news agency (NNA) reported that Israeli warplanes struck a three-story house in the town of Dweir, in the Nabatieh district.

The building belonged to retired Lebanese Army officer Youssef Reda Rammal and was completely destroyed in the strike.

Those killed included Rammal, his wife Nidal Hteit, and their daughter, as well as a Syrian man and his wife, the report said.

Nine other people were injured in the attack, including former Dweir mayor Ibrahim Reda Rammal.

The strike caused widespread destruction in the neighborhood, reducing dozens of homes to rubble and damaging or burning several vehicles.

Civil defense teams and other emergency medical crews rushed to the scene and transported the injured to nearby hospitals, while calls were issued to bring heavy machinery to rescue people trapped under the rubble.

The agency also reported that Israeli warplanes carried out another strike targeting a house in the Al-Tughra neighborhood in the town of Harouf.

In a separate raid, Israeli aircraft destroyed a building opposite Bilal Fahs Secondary School in the town of Toul and also hit the town of Kawthariyet al‑Riz, the report added.

The Israeli army has carried out a series of airstrikes across Lebanon since Monday, killing more than 120 people and injuring nearly 700 others following cross-border attacks by Hezbollah.

The escalation comes amid an ongoing Israeli-US offensive on Iran that has killed around 1,230 people since Saturday, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and top military officials.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

Israel has repeatedly violated a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon signed in Nov. 2024, carrying out near-daily strikes that have left hundreds dead and wounded.

Israel began its offensive against Lebanon in Oct. 2023 and escalated it into a full-scale war in Sept. 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and wounding around 17,000.