Mourners carry the coffins of the members of Lebanon's State Security agency, who were killed by an Israeli strike, during their funeral procession in Sidon. AFP
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli strikes killed 10 people in the Nabatiyeh district, including three emergency workers, a day after the Lebanese presidency said officials from Lebanon, Israel and the US would meet next week in Washington to "discuss declaring a ceasefire".
Regarding the earlier attack, the ministry said three deadly strikes hit locations in the Nabatiyeh district, with the dead including a member of the Lebanese civil defence and two paramedics from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee, decrying what it said was Israel's "systematic" targeting of emergency workers.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday reiterated his group's rejection of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, a day after Lebanon's president said a meeting would take place next week in Washington.
The move is "a blatant violation of the (national) pact, the constitution and Lebanese laws... and it exacerbates domestic divisions at a time when Lebanon most needs solidarity and internal unity to face Israel's aggression and preserve civil peace", Fadlallah said in a statement.
Washington declared the upcoming talks between Lebanon and Israel, after Pakistan, the chief mediator of the current ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, and Iran stated that a ceasefire in Lebanon has always been an integral part of the deal.
Israel has been increasing the frequency and intensity of its attacks on Lebanon since a ceasefire was declared between the US and Iran last Tuesday, acting as a spoiler of any potential diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
This is the second day of consecutive deadly attacks on Lebanon and the fourth wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon since the announcement of a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday have killed at least 300 people, including 33 children and four soldiers and wounded more than 1,150 Lebanese in less than 24 hours, sparking international outrage and jeopardising a fragile two-week US-Iran ceasefire.
In response, Hezbollah launched rockets from Lebanon on several sites in northern Israel and targeted a naval military base in the port of Ashdod.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned that escalating Israeli hostilities in Lebanon are inflicting a “devastating and inhumane toll” on children.
On Friday, at least 23 people were killed and around 60 wounded after Israeli airstrikes struck multiple areas of Nabatiyeh, including a State Security office, according to media and official reports.
The dead include 13 personnel from Lebanon State Security Agency, the country’s official news agency NNA said.
A correspondent for Press TV reported that several sites were hit in the strikes, which caused significant casualties and damage across the city.
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