First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Srifa on April 14, 2026. (Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
SOUTH LEBANON — At least three rescue workers were killed and several others injured in successive Israeli strikes targeting rescue teams who had arrived at the site of a bombing in Mayfadoun, in the Nabatieh district of south Lebanon, according to our correspondent.
In addition, another rescuer remains missing, while six others were wounded in the strikes, the Health Ministry said, describing the incident as a “blatant crime.” The ministry also called it a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” condemning a “crime” that “reflects the Israeli army’s intent to prevent rescuers from carrying out their humanitarian mission, to the point of making them direct targets.”
Three successive strikes on rescue workers
After the initial strike, several rescue vehicles arrived at the scene and were themselves targeted. The Health Ministry said an Israeli drone first struck a rescue team from the Islamic Health Committee (CSI, affiliated with Hezbollah), killing at least one rescuer. A second CSI ambulance that arrived shortly afterwards was then hit, injuring three rescuers.
Two additional ambulances that came later — belonging to Nabatieh emergency medical services and the al-Rissala association (affiliated with Amal) — were also targeted, reportedly by artillery fire, killing two rescue workers and injuring two others, according to the ministry.
Among those killed were Rissala ambulance worker Fadel Serhane, CSI member Mahdi Abou Zeid, and another member of Nabatieh ambulance services.
Operations are continuing, in coordination with the Lebanese army, to reach the site and recover one of the bodies believed to still be trapped, our correspondent reported.
Israeli strikes have repeatedly targeted first responder teams since March 2. According to the Health Ministry, 88 health workers and rescuers have been killed since then. On Monday, a member of the Lebanese Red Cross was killed after being struck by a drone in Beit Yahoun, in the Bint Jbeil district.
Lebanese authorities regularly denounce these attacks as violations of international humanitarian law, while the Israeli army accuses Hezbollah of using ambulances to “transport weapons and fighters.”
Reporting contributed by our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah
