Israeli attack kills 3 Lebanese soldiers

As death toll exceeds 40

An Israeli airstrike has killed 3 Lebanese troops and injured at least 17 civilians who lived close to the establishment.

According to the country’s military and Ministry of Public Health, the airstrike was on an army camp in the town of Sarafand in southern Lebanon.

“The Israeli enemy targeted an army centre in the town of Sarafand in the south, which led to the martyrdom of three soldiers”, the Lebanese military stated in a social media post on Tuesday.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli attacks throughout the country over the past 24 hours had killed 28 people and wounded 107.

The health ministry also said that 17 people were injured in the strike.

This brings the total number of fatalities in Lebanon since fighting broke out between Hezbollah and Israel in October 2023 to 3,544 dead and over 15,000 injured.

Before the attack in Sarafand, Fadi Eid, the spokesperson for the Lebanese army, told the Associated Press (AP) that 38 troops had been killed in Israeli strikes since October of last year.

According to the AP, the three most recent deaths raise the total number of Lebanese army fatalities to 41.

On Sunday, two soldiers were killed and three others were badly injured when Israeli troops bombarded a Lebanese military installation in Mari, in the Hasbaiyya region in the southeast.

The Israeli military has not yet responded regarding the most recent murder of Lebanese troops.

These troops were reported to have been securing Lebanese people.

Reports disclosed that they engaged in conducting search and rescue missions for months during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The government of Lebanon announced, on Monday, that it intends to formally complain to the UN Security Council about Israel’s “repeated attacks” on its army and charged Israeli forces of repeatedly breaking international law.

Earlier on Tuesday, Italy’s ministry of defence said that Ghanaian peacekeepers were hurt in a rocket explosion in adjacent Ramyah.

The defence ministry also stated that eight rockets struck the headquarters of the Italian contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, in Chama, southern Lebanon.

According to a UNIFIL statement, “Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty sustained injuries as a rocket – fired most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon – hit their base” in the village of Ramyah”.

Italy’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that five Italian soldiers are being watched in the medical facility at the Chama base following the rocket strike, despite the fact that no injuries were reported.

The attack targeted the base’s supply warehouse and a few outside locations according to source.

The origin of the rockets and the perpetrators of the attack are also being investigated.

On Tuesday, Argentina also announced its intention to withdraw from the peacekeeping effort in Lebanon to UNIFIL.

UNIFIL spokeswoman Andrea Tenenti stated, “Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina)”.

He referred the matter to Argentina’s authorities and declined to comment on the cause of the Argentinean’s departure.

According to UN website, Argentina is one of 48 nations that provide peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with three employees presently stationed in Lebanon.

In the past, UNIFIL has mentioned “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels” in response to Israeli military requests that UN staff evacuate southern Lebanon and vacate their posts.

In the last two months, Israeli airstrikes have damaged multiple UNIFIL bases and injured over 20 peacekeepers.

Israel has said all of these were inadvertent, source says.

Hezbollah fighters are allegedly protected by UNIFIL peacekeeping bases, according to Israel.

Israel’s requests to leave southern Lebanon for its own safety have been denied by UNIFIL.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook