Israeli attack kills 3 more Lebanese soldiers as death toll passes 40 | Israel attacks Lebanon News
The number of Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023 has reportedly reached 41 after the latest attack killed three soldiers in southern Lebanon.
Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a military base south of the Lebanese city of Sarafand, and at least 17 people living near the base were injured, the country’s military and the Ministry of Public Health said.
“Israel’s enemies targeted a military base in the southern town of Sarafand, resulting in the killing of three soldiers,” the Lebanese army said in a statement on social media on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said 17 people were injured in the strike after earlier reporting that Israeli attacks across the country in the past 24 hours had killed 28 people and wounded 107 – the highest death toll in Lebanon since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out in October. 2023. 3,544 people died and more than 15,000 were injured.
The spokesman for the Lebanese army, Fadi Eid, told the Associated Press (AP) before the attack in Sarafand that 38 soldiers had been killed in Israeli strikes since October last year. The three latest victims brought the death toll in the Lebanese army to 41, AP reported.
He targeted the Israeli military center in the town of Al-Sarfand-Janoob, which led to the martyrdom of 3 military personnel.#الجيش_اللبناني #LebanonArmy pic.twitter.com/QKy5BcCTYe
— Lebanese Army (@LebarmyOfficial) November 19, 2024
Translation: The Israeli enemy targeted a military base in the city of Sarafand in the south, which resulted in the killing of three soldiers.
On Sunday, Israeli forces bombed a Lebanese military base in Mari, southeast of Hasbaiyya, killing two soldiers and seriously injuring three others.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on its latest killing of a Lebanese soldier who has been providing security to Lebanese civilians for months and conducting search and rescue efforts amid the war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanon’s government said Monday it plans to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council over Israel’s “repeated attacks” on its army, and accused Israeli forces of repeated violations of international law.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Italian Ministry of Defense reported that eight rockets hit the Italian headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, in Chama, southern Lebanon, while Ghanaian peacekeepers were injured when a rocket exploded in nearby Ramyah.
“Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty were injured when a rocket – possibly fired by non-state actors in Lebanon – hit their base” in the village of Ramyah, a UNIFIL statement said.
Although no one was reported injured, five Italian soldiers were kept under observation at the Chama medical center after the rocket attack, the Italian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. Investigations are also underway to find out where the rockets came from and to identify those responsible for the attack, which hit the outskirts and the base’s warehouse.
Also on Tuesday, Argentina informed UNIFIL that it will withdraw from the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
“Argentina has asked its officials to go back [to Argentina],” said UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti in response to a question about the newspaper report. He declined to comment on the reason for Argentina’s departure, referring the question to the Argentine government.
Argentina is one of 48 countries that contribute peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three personnel currently in Lebanon, according to the UN website.
UNIFIL has spoken of “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the operation through various channels”, amid demands by the Israeli military that UN personnel leave their bases and withdraw from southern Lebanon.
More than 20 peacekeepers have been injured in the past two months and several UNIFIL bases have been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, which Israel says were unintentional. Israel accuses UNIFIL of being a peacekeeping base for protecting Hezbollah fighters.
UNIFIL has rejected Israel’s request to withdraw from southern Lebanon for safety.
