Israeli Airstrikes Kill 18 In Southern Lebanon

ISTANBUL, May 25 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- At least 18 people were killed and several wounded in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday in the latest violations of a ceasefire, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing state news.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said 11 people were killed and nine injured in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Seir al-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh governorate.

A fighter jet struck the town of Bazouriyeh in Tyre district, killing one person and injuring two others, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported.

An Israeli drone strike also killed a young man in the town of Arabsalim in Nabatieh district, the outlet said.

A house was also hit in an Israeli strike in the town of Toura in Tyre, killing a woman and injuring two people.

NNA later reported additional strikes in Nabatieh governorate, including attacks in Abba and Jebchit, while an Israeli drone strike in Doueir killed a 50-year-old farmer.

A paramedic with the Islamic Health Organisation was killed after a civil defence team came under Israeli fire while inspecting the site of an earlier strike in Arabsalim, NNA reported.

Amid the attacks, the Israeli army ordered residents of six villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of planned strikes.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that residents in Kfarsir, Seir al-Gharbiyeh, Zrariyeh, Ansar, Mazraat Kawthariyet El Riz and Kharayeb should move at least 1,000 metres away to open areas.

The attacks came despite a United States (US)-mediated ceasefire that is supposed to remain in effect until early July.

More than 3,100 people have been killed and over 9,500 injured, while 1.6 million have been displaced by Israeli bombardments in Lebanon since March 2 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, according to Lebanese officials.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU