Israeli air strikes kill seven in Lebanon as IDF targets Hezbollah
At least seven people were killed and others injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, officials said, while the Israeli army destroyed parts of a Catholic monastery in the border village.
The Israeli military issued a new warning to residents of nine southern villages on Saturday to evacuate.
Israel and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group continued their attacks despite the ceasefire in effect since April 17.
In the border village of Yaroun, the Israeli army bulldozed parts of a Catholic monastery that was vacant as a result of recent fighting.
“From what we heard, it was bulldozed,” said Gladys Sabbagh, superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters.
Sabbagh told The Associated Press that the monastery also includes a school, which has been closed since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, as well as a clinic that was recently moved to the nearby village of Rmeich.
He described the convent as a small settlement where two nuns lived who were separated due to war.
Since Yaroun residents have been displaced, Sabbagh did not provide further details.
The Israeli army made a statement stating that while Hezbollah’s infrastructure was destroyed in Yaroun, a house without any religious signs was also damaged.
He added that once the army learned that the site was linked to a church, soldiers “prevented further damage from being done.”
The military added that Hezbollah has used this facility to fire rockets at Israel on several occasions in the past.
He added that the military did not deliberately attack religious institutions.
The Catholic Church in Lebanon has denied allegations that the compound was used for military purposes.
“We are against any kind of (attack) on places of worship and churches. These are places used to spread peace, love and education,” said Father Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Information Center.
“These are not military bases”
The destruction of the monastery came days after images of an Israeli soldier attacking a statue of the crucified Jesus with an ax in the southern Lebanon village of Debel sparked widespread condemnation in Lebanon and internationally.
Israel announced that it targeted Hezbollah’s infrastructure and members
Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah attacks continued in other parts of southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that two people were killed in an air strike on a vehicle in the village of Kfar Dajal, while another vehicle hit a house in the village of Lwaizeh, killing three people.
It was stated that two more people were killed in the attack on Shoukin village.
Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya, Israel’s Arabic-speaking military spokesperson, reported on
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli soldiers gathered inside a house in the coastal village of Bayed on Saturday with a drone.
In recent weeks, the Israeli army has been razing neighborhoods in towns and villages near the Lebanese-Israeli border.
The military says it has destroyed buildings used as outposts by the Iran-backed group.
The Israeli military has released a new video that it says shows Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon being blown up.
Video released on Friday shows soldiers carrying Israeli flags walking among the destroyed football stadium in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.
The military said on its website that the air force “destroyed the town’s stadium after it was revealed that it had been booby-trapped.”
The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after the United States and Israel launched a war against its main backer Iran.
Israel has since launched hundreds of airstrikes and a ground assault on southern Lebanon, capturing dozens of towns and villages along the border.
