Israel Strikes Near Beirut as Two Medics Killed in South Lebanon

The Israeli military pressed on Saturday with its days-long bombing campaign targeting an area near Beirut dominated by Hezbollah, while in the country’s south, Israeli airstrikes killed two paramedics, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the Israeli strikes on the Dahiya, a predominantly Shiite Muslim area south of Beirut that has come under repeated Israeli attacks in past days. Israel has said these strikes are targeting facilities used by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militia that holds sway in the Dahiya. It has accused the group of hiding “terrorist infrastructure” in residential areas.

The attacks on Dahiya came as Israel issued a new flurry of evacuation warnings to local residents and after a round of strikes overnight on the area.

At the same time, there was growing anger within Lebanon over the mounting numbers of rescue workers killed by Israel in recent weeks. On Saturday, Lebanon’s health ministry condemned the killings of rescue workers as “barbaric attacks” and urged the international community to “ensure respect for international humanitarian laws.”

Israeli strikes have killed almost two dozen rescuers in the past week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. And more than 145 health care workers in Lebanon have been killed while on duty since the war began in mid-September, according to the World Health Organization.

One of the paramedics was killed on Saturday in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tibnit, according to the health ministry, which said that two more paramedics in the same town were missing and unaccounted for. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deaths.