Smoke billows from villages near Sour, notably Ain Baal, in southern Lebanon, after Israeli strikes, Oct. 27, 2024. (Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
Three Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed at least 21 people, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. In three separate statements, the ministry detailed the casualties from strikes in Burj al-Shemali, Ain Baal, and Haret Saida.
The deadliest strike occurred in Haret Saida, a neighborhood in the large southern city of Saida, which had previously been spared from violence, where nine people were killed and 38 others injured. Thirteen individuals remain hospitalized, three of whom are in serious condition.
The ministry reported that five people were killed and one injured in Burj al-Shemali, east of Sour, where the drone strike targeted an area near a school operated by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
In Ain Baal, also in the Sour district, seven people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a rescue center, including a nurse and three paramedics. The bombing also resulted in 24 injuries.
According to the ministry, 168 medical personnel have been killed and 275 others injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023.
The Ministry of Health also announced the total death toll from Saturday's Israeli attacks, which stood at 19 killed and 108 injured.
The breakdown of casualties is as follows:
- In the South Lebanon governate: seven killed and 48 wounded.
- In the Nabatieh governate: 10 killed and 55 wounded.
- In the Baalbeck-Hermel governate: two killed and five wounded.
As of Saturday, the overall death toll in Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023, has reached 2,672, with 12,468 individuals injured.