Smoke after an Israeli bombing on Meifadoun, in the Nabatieh district, on May 21, 2026. (Credit: AFP )
SOUTH LEBANON — The Israeli army continued its heavy bombardment of the Nabatieh region on Sunday, carrying out multiple strikes and issuing renewed evacuation orders for parts of the city, including the so-called Maslakh neighborhood.
It also once again targeted rescue workers from the Islamic Health Committee, affiliated with Hezbollah, killing one and wounding two others in a double-tap strike on Arab Salim (Nabatieh district), which had already been shelled earlier in the day, according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon.
More broadly, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders in the early afternoon for seven villages in the Nabatieh district and three others in West Bekaa (Qlaya, Sohmor, and Mashghara), some of which had already been bombed earlier in the day without prior warning.
Deadly targeted drone strikes
The Israeli army also carried out deadly drone strikes across the region, killing one person on a scooter in Toul, another on a motorcycle in Jebsheet, and two others on a motorbike in Tibnin (Bint Jbeil district). Early in the morning, a drone-fired missile struck the main road linking Zahrani to Nabatieh, killing one person and wounding another.
In Arab Salim, in addition to the strike on Islamic Health Committee rescuers, another person was killed in the village earlier in the morning, though their identity was not immediately known. A further strike hit the area in the afternoon near a center of the al-Rissala Scouts, affiliated with the Amal movement, without causing injuries.
Israeli forces also bombarded the town of Bazourieh (Sour district), killing at least one person and wounding another. Later in the afternoon, the town of Labbaya in West Bekaa — despite not being included in Israeli evacuation orders — was struck twice.
Civil Defense center destroyed, widespread overnight strikes
Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, a series of Israeli air raids had already pounded the Nabatieh region. Earlier this week, multiple strikes hit a Civil Defense center in Nabatieh, completely destroying the building and several ambulances. The site had been evacuated beforehand and no casualties were reported. The Civil Defense condemned the strike on “a center dedicated to humanitarian and rescue operations” and said it would continue its mission despite the risks.
Additional overnight strikes targeted several villages across the Nabatieh area, including the “Rahbate” (nuns’ quarter), a stone quarry at the city’s entrance, Kfar Tibnit, Toul, Habboush, the outskirts of Kfar Roummane, Arab Salim and Nabatieh al-Fawqa. The Marj Harouf commercial zone was hit by three airstrikes and artillery fire, destroying shops and businesses and sparking large fires.
In the Sour district, Majdal Zoun, Mansouri and Toura were also bombed. In Toura, a mother and her son were wounded, while the family’s daughter remains missing. In Srifa, an airstrike killed two people. The army also carried out a new controlled demolition overnight in Khiam, in the eastern sector.
The death toll from Saturday’s Israeli strike on Sir al-Gharbieh has risen to nine, including six women and one child, with six wounded and two still missing.
Hezbollah attacks and fragile cease-fire
For its part, Hezbollah claimed several attacks, including five targeting Israeli troops near Deir Siryan (Marjayoun district), a town located south of the Litani River and largely destroyed.
It is in that area that the Israeli army said it had briefly crossed the river earlier this month toward the Nabatieh district before withdrawing.
The cease-fire reached in mid-April in Washington and extended twice since has failed to halt Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, nor Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli forces operating inside Lebanese territory or in northern Israel. Since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,000 people.
Reporting contributed by our regional correspondent, Muntasser Abdallah.
