South Lebanon suffers its deadliest day since Oct. 8: Day 173 of the Gaza war

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the war in Gaza. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more live coverage.

Goodnight!

The Amal Movement announced the death of two of its members: Ali Ahmad Mahdi, born in 1975, and "rescue worker" Hussein Ahmad Hojeir, born in 1978. Both men were from Naqoura and were killed in the Israeli attack that took place earlier in the evening in the same southern Lebanese town.

Hezbollah issued a statement in which it claims to have forced an Israeli drone to retreat into the airspace above the localities of Rab al-Thalathine and Adaisseh (Marjeyoun caza) at 4:47 p.m.

Hezbollah announced the deaths of two members of its "civil defense": Kamel Faisal Shehadeh, born in 1968 and originally from Deir Antar, and Hassan Hussein Hassan, born in 1995 and originally from Mazraat Meshref. As usual, the party did not specify the place and date of death of its members, but it seems that they were victims of the Israeli strike at Tayr Harfa. The party has claimed nine civil defense members since Oct. 8.

The vehicle of the Islamic Health Organization after being targeted by Israel. (Photo sent by local residents to L'Orient Today)

The three members of the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Medical Organization were killed by an airstrike on their way to the site of the attack in Tayr Harfa (Sour) in southern Lebanon, a security source said.

In a video posted on Instagram, UNICEF spokesman James Elder expressed his dismay at the ongoing attacks in Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The UN resolution, adopted on Monday, aimed to secure a truce during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and demanded the release of prisoners captured during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, asserted that Israel had a legal obligation to allow "urgent and safe" humanitarian access to Gaza. Speaking on X, he also said that the World Food Program had estimated that there was sufficient food stockpiled for Gaza's starving population, awaiting delivery by land.

The airstrike on Tayr Harfa killed two Hezbollah members and three members of the Islamic Health Association, a Hezbollah-affiliated organization, the head of the village council told our correspondent. The party has yet to claim any of the dead in this strike. 

The leader of the Israeli army's Northern Command, Uri Gordin, stated, "Hezbollah decided to attack Kiryat Shmona. If we have to, we will also act tonight." Gordin referred to Hezbollah's rocket fire at Kiryat Shmona Wednesday morning, which resulted in the death of Zahar Bashara, a 38-year-old Israeli. During a training session for battalion commanders in the Northern Command, Gordin described the Israeli army's response to Wednesday's attack by the Jamaa Islamiya organization as a "successful thwarting" according to Haaretz.

The death toll from the Israeli strike on a Naqoura cafe has risen to four with some of those dead belonging to the Amal Movement, according to a security source. Those killed and injured in the strike are being transported to a hospital in Sour.

In a separate strike, two Hezbollah members were killed in Tayr Harfa, according to a security source in Hezbollah. Neither party has officially claimed any of the dead.

Commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif aka Abu Khaled, released an audio recording on Wednesday on Telegram, calling on Arab populations "to march on Palestine and wage jihad to liberate al-Aqsa Mosque."

"To our families in Jordan and Lebanon, Egypt and Algeria, the Arab Maghreb, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and all parts of the Arab and Muslim nations. Begin the assault on Palestine now, not tomorrow. Don't let borders, regimes or constraints deprive you of the honor of leading the jihad and participating in the liberation of al Aqsa Mosque. Lead the jihad with your money and your life in the service of God," he said.

This is the second audio attributed to the head of Hamas's armed wing since Oct. 7.

Three were killed and several injured in the strike against the cafe in Naqoura (Sour) a security source told L'Orient Today.

Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of the town of Mais al-Jabal in the western direction of Wadi Slouqi and shelled the town of Blida (both towns are in the Marjayoun district), according to local residents.

The president of the Tayr Harfa municipal council, Qassem Haidar, told our correspondent in South Lebanon that the Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the village, completely destroying it. One person was killed, said Haïdar, adding that rescue workers are currently searching for missing persons amid the rubble.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office "has said that they would like to find a new date to hold the Rafah meeting," two days after dramatically canceling this week's planned talks on the subject, a senior US official said. "We are working with them to find a date," he told AFP.

Israel, furious over a US abstention in a UN vote, had decided on Monday not to send a delegation to Washington as planned, in order to discuss its planned offensive against the southern Gaza Strip locality.

Latest developments in southern Lebanon:

- Heavy Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Adaisseh (Marjayoun), according to residents.

- An Israeli fighter jet targeted Tayr Harfa (Sour), a security source told L'Orient Today.

The Amal Movement, Hezbollah's ally, and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) both condemned in separate statements the Israeli strike that killed seven rescue workers in Hebbarieh in the Hasbaya district of southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning.

The Amal Movement referred to it as a "massacre," and a "war crime which adds to the series committed by the Israeli entity since its creation."

The movement also said that the "international community" could no longer "remain silent or turn a blind eye to what the Israeli war machine is committing in Palestine and Lebanon," considering these acts to be tantamount to "crimes against humanity."

The PSP described the bombing as a "heinous crime" and echoed the call to "submit an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council" made earlier by its former leader, Walid Joumlblatt.

In two separate statements on Wednesday, the US and British governments announced a new series of sanctions against the Hamas news agency, Gaza Now, and its officials, accused of helping to finance the Palestinian group.

For the first time since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, Hebbarieh, a Sunni town of almost 2,000 inhabitants, was targeted by an Israeli aircraft last night. The targeted attack on the one-story center of the Jamaa Islamiya-affiliated "Islamic Medical Association" killed seven rescue workers, the oldest of whom was 25 years old, and all from the village.

"Until then, the heart of the village had been spared, but what has happened is a game-changer," local resident Yasser told L'Orient Today.

Read the full story here. 

Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

- ⁠Two Israeli artillery shells fell east of the village of Taybeh (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent in the South.

-⁠ ⁠The Israeli army announced that "an aircraft belonging to Hezbollah was located in the area of Rosh Hanikra" in northern Israel earlier today. The Israeli army added that its forces "rushed to the scene."

Hezbollah announced that it had targeted "an Israeli infantry unit" in a tent in the Ramim woods, opposite the Lebanese village of Markaba, at 1:45 p.m. The party claimed to have killed and wounded members of this force. The party regularly claims casualties in the Israeli ranks, but this is rarely confirmed by the Israeli army.

Hezbollah also claimed to have fired on "surveillance equipment" at the Israeli site of Miskav Am, opposite the village of Adaisseh in southern Lebanon, at 2 p.m.

Two people waiting for humanitarian aid at the Kuwait traffic circle in Gaza City were seriously wounded by Israeli sniper fire, as reported by the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.

Palestinian civilians seeking help in the northern Gaza Strip have repeatedly come under fire from Israeli forces. The most recent incident took place on March 23, when 19 people were killed and 23 wounded in the same location, as reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Pope Francis receiving Palestinian Bassam Aramin and Israeli Rami Elhanan, at the Vatican, March 27, 2024. Photo AFP / VATICAN MEDIA

"You are not alone": Pope Francis expressed solidarity with Catholics in the Holy Land in the run-up to Easter, shortly after meeting two Israeli and Palestinian peace activists bereaved by the conflict.

"I am close to all of you, in your different rites, ... especially to those who, in this difficult moment, are suffering most painfully from the absurd drama of war," wrote the Argentine pope in a letter published by the Vatican.

Hezbollah announced responsibility for an artillery attack carried out at 2:05 p.m. on the Israeli site of "Rouaissat al-Alam," in the Israeli-occupied Kfar Shuba heights.

An ambulance destroyed in the Israeli attack on a medical center in the southern Lebanese town of Hebbarieh, on March 27, 2024. (Credit: L'Orient Today)

Druze leader Walid Joumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party released a statement calling Israel's attack of the Hebbarieh medical center "a hecatomb [extensive loss of life] that goes against all international laws," calling for "an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council." An MP from the same party, Wael Abou Faour, described the attack as a "mass crime" against humanitarian workers.

A medical bag displaying the the Islamic Emergency and Relief Corps logo is pictured under the rubble of the association's medical center in Hebbarieh, targeted by the Israeli army on March 27, 2024. (Credit: L'Orient Today)

👉 It's almost 3:30 p.m. Beirut time, and here's a wrap up everything we know so far about the Israeli strike that destroyed a medical facility in southern Lebanon, killing seven first-aid volunteers, all 25-years-old or younger.

The demonstration in front of UNRWA headquarters in Beirut in ongoing, in support of suspended employee and director of an UNRWA school Fateh Charif, who his agency coworkers say was suspended because of his views on the Gaza war.

Fateh Charif addressed the crowd: "Your presence fills my heart, and your message has been passed on," he said, denouncing a decision "taken by the American and Western embassies."

A source at UNRWA told L'Orient Today that his suspension was a "standard procedure," and that an investigation had been opened for "alleged violation of the agency's working rules," but gave no further details.

Hezbollah announced that its artillery targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the village of Shtula at 10:00 a.m. this morning. Shtula faces the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab, in Bint Jbeil district.

Earlier today, the Israeli army announced that "four missiles fell in open areas in the Shtula area in northern Israel," according to Haaretz. No casualties have been reported on the Israeli side from this strike.

The funeral procession for the seven rescue workers killed in Hebbarieh, in Hasbaya district, in southern Lebanon, March 27, 2024. (Credit: L'Orient Today)

Numerous political reactions to the Hebbarieh "massacre" in the Hasbaya district of southern Lebanon have been published since this morning.

• On his X account, Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan, with close ties to the Amal Movement, called Israel "an enemy who knows only the language of murder," killing "rescue workers who are looking after the safety of their fellow citizens."

• Amal Movement MP Qassem Hachem said that "only the use of force can deal" with Israeli crimes. The Amal Movement is headed by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.

• In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Health denounced the attack, saying it demonstrates how Israel "persists in attacking medical centers," recalling that such acts "are contrary to international laws and conventions, in particular the Geneva Convention."

At least 32,490 Palestinians have been killed and 74,889 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, cited by Reuters. It is believed that thousands more are still trapped under the rubble.

There have been 76 Palestinians killed and 102 injured in the past 24 hours alone, the ministry statement added.

(Credit: L'Orient Today)

A demonstration began at 12:30 p.m. in front of UNRWA headquarters in Beirut to protest against the suspension of Fateh Charif, an employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees recently suspended for an "alleged violation" of the agency's rules. The mobilization was in response to a call from several Palestinian factions.

"He's a director of an UNRWA school, I don't know what prompted this decision," Rabih Redouane, an activist on the scene, tells our correspondent Lyana Alameddine. "He went to demonstrations, it's his right to show his commitment to his country," he continued. Workers within the agency accused the UN of suspending Charif for his political stance on the Gaza war.

In a statement issued yesterday, UNRWA said that one of its workers had been "placed on unpaid administrative leave for three months," pending an investigation by the agency's internal control services.

👉 Read more here.

Latest updates from the Lebanese-Israeli border:

• The Israeli army announced that "four missiles fell in open areas in the Shtula area in northern Israel," according to Haaretz. No Lebanese or Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for attacking Shtula yet.

• The Israeli army "ordered the road leading from the northern Israeli town of Tel Hai to Margaliot, Misgav Am and Manara to be closed following the latest barrage of rockets fired at Kiryat Shmona," Haaretz also reported. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at the city of Kiryat Shmona this morning in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed seven rescue workers in the Lebanese southern village of Hebbarieh.

The NGO Lebanese Soccor Association (LSA) denounced the Israeli strike that targeted one of the Islamic Emergency and Relief Corps' (IERC) medical centers last night as "a crime in blatant violation of the neutrality [in war] of humanitarian organizations and workers."

The statement, issued by the LSA, which supervises the IERC, called for a "broad campaign of solidarity from other humanitarian organizations ... to ensure the protection  of all emergency crews."

The association also published the names of the seven rescue workers killed in the strike: Abdallah Atoui, Mohammad Atoui, Bara' Abou Kais, Abderrahmane Shaar, Ahmad Shaar and Mohammad Hammoud.

A resident of Hebbarieh told AP that the seven victims were pulled out from under the rubble of the building sometime before sunrise.

The rubble of a medical center in Hebbarieh targeted by a deadly Israeli strike, in southern Lebanon, March 27, 2024. (Credit: L'Orient Today)

A man stands next to a damaged ambulance and a car at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in Hebbarieh near the Israeli border on March 27, 2024. (Credit: Rabih Daher/AFP)

In a statement released earlier today, Hezbollah denied that it had tried to fire rockets from the southern Lebanese Christian village of Rmeish yesterday.

It was previously reported that a dispute had erupted yesterday between residents of Rmeish, in Bint Jbeil district, and a group which the town sources associated with Hezbollah after the latter tried to install a missile launcher in the town. Hezbollah has repeatedly claimed that its fighters do not launch rocket attacks from residential areas.

👉 Read the full report here.

Haaretz provided more details about the man who was killed in Kiryat Shmona after Hezbollah targeted the city with a barrage of rockets in retaliation for last night's strike on Hebbarieh.

According to the outlet, he was identified as Zaher Bishara from the Druze village of Ein Qiniyyeh in the northern Golan Heights. Bishara, who was initially reported as having been 25-year-old, was actually in his thirties. He was found dead by his friend in an industrial building following a strike.

Hezbollah announced the death of two of its fighters yesterday night: Ali al-Jawhari from the city of Hermel, in the Bekaa, and Ali al-Akhras from Kfar Tibnit, from South Lebanon governorate.

According to our correspondent in the Bekaa, both of them were killed in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a house yesterday near Boudai, 9 kilometers west of Baalbeck.

This brings the total number of Hezbollah members killed in Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 8, to 251, according to L'Orient Today's count.

The Israeli army claims to have "eliminated a saboteur" in the strike on a medical facility in Hebbarieh, in a message posted on X by its Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee.

"Last night, warplanes attacked a military building in Hebbarieh in southern Lebanon, where a prominent terrorist belonging to Jamaa Islamiya was eliminated."

The Israeli military says the man in question "was involved in previous operations against Israeli territory, and was killed along with other saboteurs who were with him in the building."

Seven first-aid and rescue volunteers were killed, according to several sources cited by Reuters, AFP, and our correspondent in the South. The oldest of the seven killed was aged 25.

People inspect destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in Hebbarieh near the Israeli border on March 27, 2024. (Credit: Rabih Daher/AFP)

Prior to its announcement of retaliatory strikes on Kiryat Shmona, Hezbollah released a statement condemning Israel's "heinous criminal aggression," and pointed out that the center targeted was part of the Islamic Medical Association. Hezbollah then offered its condolences for the victims and promised that "this aggression will not go unanswered."

The center that was targeted belonged to The Islamic Emergency and Relief Corps, which is affiliated to al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or "The Islamic Group," a Sunni political party that was formed as a Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1960s.

There are several entities operating in the South and many of them run their own health centers, operate their own civil defense, and have teams of first-aid workers. Most active of these health organizations are Hezbollah's "Islamic Health Commitee" and the Amal Movement's "al-Rissala Scouts," whose medical teams have carried out the majority of rescue missions since the war broke out in southern Lebanon in October.

👉 Read more here.

Hebbarieh's mokhtar — or head of the municipality — shared his testimony of the night's events with our correspondent in the South.

"I was at home, and around 12:30 a.m. the Israeli air force fired a single missile. I heard a violent explosion and the houses shook. It was like an earthquake."

Referring to the health center that was struck, the mokhtar said that 10 people had been present leading up to the time of the strike. "Some people left the center a few minutes before the attack. Seven stayed and were killed."

He says material damage was also heavy, with at least ten houses destroyed and numerous cars burnt out. "This is the first time that Hebbarieh has been hit by aircraft," he told L'Orient Today.

In response to the Israeli airstrike that killed at least seven people in Hebbarieh, in southern Lebanon yesterday night, Hezbollah announced that it fired dozens of rockets at 8 a.m., targeting the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona and the command of the Israeli 769th Brigade in the Kiryat Shmona barracks.

Haaretz first reported the Israeli army saying that at least 30 rockets were fired at Kiryat Shmona, and then shortly after reported that a 25-year-old was killed in the rocket barrage that targeted the city.

Here's what happened at the Lebanese-Israeli border last night, apart from the Israeli airstrike on Hebbarieh:

• Between 11 p.m. and and 12:30 a.m., the Israeli army fired with machine guns at residential neighborhoods in the village of Kfar Kila and the outskirts of Odaisseh, both in Marjayoun district, according to a security source, cited by our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah.

• An Israeli drone fired a missile on a House in Dhaira, Sour district, but the explosive did not detonate, Abdallah reports.

🔴 Seven young medical volunteers were killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on the southern Lebanese town of Hebbarieh, in Hasbaya district, the village's mokhtar told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region. The oldest victim was 25 years old.

A security source told Reuters that the strike appeared to target an emergency and relief center in the village. Our correspondent later confirmed that the health center was run by Jamaa Islamiya, a group affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood. AFP reported that the group announced seven rescue workers had been killed.

This was the first time Hebbarieh was targeted by an airstrike since Oct. 8.

Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its repercussions in the region — notably in southern Lebanon and the Red Sea.

🔴 You can catch up on yesterday's news here.

☕ You can read the Morning Brief here.