Lebanese Red Cross rescue workers at the site of an Israeli strike on a Lebanese Army roadblock between Sour and Naqoura, South Lebanon, Nov. 24, 2024. Photo obtained by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah
The Lebanese Army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers was killed and 18 others injured, some "critically," in an Israeli strike on an army center in Aamriyyeh, located on the road linking Qlayleh to Sour in southern Lebanon. In a brief statement, the army also reported "extensive material damage."
The victim was identified by the army as Diab Mohammad Jaafar, born in 1982 and originally from Beit Younis, in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon.
According to information from the army's correspondent in the South, the strike involved artillery fire. Fuel tanks caught fire as a result of the shelling. A few hours later, the army evacuated the position.
In a statement, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel for "directly targeting an army post" in the South, calling the attack a "bloody message" that undermines "all ongoing efforts to achieve a cease-fire, bolster the army's presence in the South, and implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701." Mikati added that his government "urges countries worldwide and relevant international institutions to assume their responsibilities" in response to these strikes. Outgoing Defense Minister Maurice Slim condemned the strike “at a time when international efforts to achieve a cease-fire, implement Resolution 1701 and support the army in strengthening its presence in the South are continuing.”
The Israeli army has killed several dozen Lebanese soldiers, both active and retired, since its clashes with Hezbollah began in October 2023. Some were killed in direct strikes on army centers and vehicles, despite the army not being involved in the fighting.
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