The United Nations deplored on Thursday what it described as “unacceptable” attacks on rescue workers in Lebanon, after 10 were killed in Israeli strikes in the South of the country over the past two days.
“The tragic events of the last 36 hours have resulted in numerous casualties and injuries in southern Lebanon. Up to 11 civilians have been killed in a single day, including 10 rescue workers,” said the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza.
Seven rescue workers were killed in Hebbariyeh on Tuesday night when strikes targeted an emergency and rescue center affiliated to Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese Islamist group close to Hamas.
On Wednesday evening, Hezbollah announced the death of four of its fighters and two rescue workers, while its ally Amal reported the death of two of its members, including a rescue worker.
“Attacks on medical facilities violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable,” Riza added in a statement.
On Thursday, the pro-Iranian group announced that it had bombed several localities in northern Israel in retaliation for the “massacre” the previous day in Naqoura and “the aggression” against the village of Tayr Harfa and its medical teams.
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At least 346 people have been killed in Lebanon—mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians—in clashes with Israel in almost six months, according to an AFP count.
The border violence has also displaced thousands of people in southern Lebanon, as well as in northern Israel, where, according to the army, 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.
