Israeli strikes in Nabatieh, Southern Lebanon, leave 6 dead, including Mayor
Shafaq News/ Six Lebanese, including a local official, were killed on Wednesday due to Israeli airstrikes targeting the Nabatieh municipality headquarters and the Union of Municipalities in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Hostilities
Nabatiyeh Governor, Howaida Turk told AFP, "11 Israeli airstrikes primarily targeted the Nabatieh today, creating what resembled a fire belt," noting that "Nabatieh Mayor Ahmad Kahil and several of his team members are among the casualties."
“It's a massacre!" she said.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health's emergency operations center reported, as covered by the National News Agency, that "the Israeli strike on Nabatieh initially resulted in the martyrdom of five people," confirming that debris removal efforts were ongoing.
Reuters also cited two security sources stating, “The mayor of the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh was killed along with five others in an Israeli airstrike.”
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel for "deliberately" targeting a Nabatieh municipality meeting.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Nabatieh area and dismantled what it termed "underground infrastructure."
This comes as the Israeli army continued its airstrikes on several Lebanese areas, including the southern suburbs of Beirut, where it carried out two strikes on Haret Hreik on Wednesday morning for the first time in days.
After a six-day pause, the Israeli army launched three airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, claiming to target an "underground weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah."
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of intensive airstrikes on several towns and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, resulting in 23 deaths and 31 injuries, according to official figures.
Hezbollah Continues to Defend
On Wednesday, Hezbollah announced, “In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in Gaza and in solidarity with their brave and honorable resistance, as well as in defense of Lebanon and its people, Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a Merkava tank near the town of Ramya with a guided missile at 10:30 AM on October 16, 2024, resulting in both fatalities and injuries among its crew.”
In a series of other statements, the Lebanese party shelled the city of Safed, the Yiftah settlement, and artillery positions in the Dalton and Dishon areas in northern Israel.
These attacks come just days after Hezbollah targeted with “qualitative” drones a training camp for the elite Golani Brigade in the Binyamina area, south of Haifa, killing and wounding dozens. Israel described this attack as “the deadliest since the conflict began.”
The clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began on the heels of the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Lebanese party opened a “support front” for the Gaza Strip.
Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon since September 23, targeting what it claims are infrastructure and facilities belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, eastern Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Since then, the ongoing bombardment has resulted in the deaths of over 2,309 individuals, including women and children, and the displacement of nearly a million others.
In response, Hezbollah responds to Israeli attacks with rockets and drones, inflicting material and human losses.
