A rescue worker inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese area of Maarakeh near Tyre. AFP
Israeli strikes killed at least 54 people and wounded 156 others in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since Israel escalated its strikes in Lebanon on 2 March to more than 1,422, and the wounded to nearly 5,000, including hundreds of children, women, health workers, and journalists.
On Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least two girls and wounded 40 people, Lebanon's health ministry said.
In separate statements, the Lebanese health ministry reported that an Israeli strike on Habbush killed at least two girls and wounded 22 people, while a strike on al-Hawsh near the coastal city of Tyre wounded 18, including a child, three women, and three paramedics.
The ministry had said in an earlier statement that the strike on al-Hawsh damaged a nearby major hospital.
On the other side, the Israeli military announced the death of another soldier in battle with Hezbollah fighters.
In Tyre, Israeli missiles struck several buildings that residents had been warned to evacuate, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA). One strike levelled an 11-storey building, sending debris into a nearby gas station, while another partially destroyed a five-storey structure. A separate strike hit the Burj al-Shamali Palestinian refugee camp on the city’s outskirts.
The Israeli attacks followed strikes a day earlier that targeted and damaged a major hospital, wounding at least 11 people, including civil defence personnel.
Hospital officials said the facility would remain operational despite shattered windows and collapsed ceilings.
Across the wider Tyre area, Israeli strikes targeted the city's port and marina, damaging several boats.
A man inspects damaged boats at the site of an Israeli strike in the port of the Lebanese coastal town of Tyre. AFP
Elsewhere in southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a mosque in the Bint Jbeil district, while repeated strikes in the West Bekaa region cut off a key bridge for a second consecutive day.
Israeli occupation forces were also reported to have carried out cross-border incursions, including the abduction of a man in the border town of Shebaa.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah fighters continued to engage with Israeli soldiers across the south, and the group launched multiple attacks on northern Israel overnight.
The Israeli escalation has displaced more than one million people, according to Lebanese authorities. Tens of thousands have been forced to flee Tyre, although about 20,000 people remain in the city, many already displaced from surrounding villages.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon said three peacekeepers were wounded on Friday in a blast inside a UN facility near Odaisse and were taken to the hospital.
Jakarta slammed the incident as "unacceptable" after the UN office there confirmed the wounded were Indonesian.
“These events underscore the urgent need to strengthen protection for UN peacekeeping forces amid an increasingly dangerous conflict situation,” Indonesia’s government said.
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