The death toll from Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon since March 2 has risen to 394, including 83 children and 42 women, plus 1,130 wounded, Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine said on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference, Nasreddine said the wounded include 254 children and 274 women, adding that many of the strikes have hit residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities.
He said several deadly incidents were recorded in the past 48 hours in southern and eastern Lebanon. In one strike in the Bekaa Valley, six members of the same family -- four children and their parents -- were killed, while other attacks in towns and villages left multiple casualties.
Nasreddine also said that emergency and medical teams have been directly targeted while carrying out rescue operations.
According to the Health Ministry, nine health workers have been killed and 16 others wounded, including paramedics from the Lebanese Red Cross, civil defense teams, and other emergency responders.
He added that five hospitals have been partially damaged by the strikes, while several medical facilities have been forced to suspend operations due to security threats.
The escalation follows rocket fire toward Israel launched from Lebanon early Monday by Hezbollah, the group's first such attack since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.
Israel has since launched what it called an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, combining heavy airstrikes with ground incursions along the border and evacuation warnings for areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that that its Northern Command had conducted air, sea, and ground strikes against more than 600 targets in Lebanon over the past week. The IDF claimed to have killed more than 190 militants, including the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Lebanon and several senior officials of the organization.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that two soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, marking the first acknowledgment of military casualties by the IDF since its Feb. 28 attacks on Iran.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that the two IDF soldiers were inside a D9 engineering vehicle operating near a defense post along the border in Lebanese territory when Hezbollah militants fired an anti-tank missile or mortar shell at them.
Death toll from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon rises to 394
Death toll from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon rises to 394
