Israeli strike injures Red Cross volunteers in Lebanon

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Four Lebanese Red Cross volunteers were injured Sunday during an Israeli airstrike while responding to casualties from an earlier attack on a home in Srobbine, a village in Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh governorate, according to the Red Cross.

In a statement, the Red Cross reported that emergency teams were dispatched to the site of the first Israeli airstrike in Srobbine around 8.00 am (0500GMT), in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). As the volunteers searched for victims, the house was struck again, injuring four Red Cross responders and damaging two ambulances. The injured were transported to a hospital with minor injuries and are reported to be in stable condition.

The Red Cross emphasized the importance of protecting emergency personnel, saying that volunteers and paramedics must be safeguarded “at all times while they attempt to save victims.”

In a separate incident, a second Israeli airstrike targeted Red Cross ambulances at an intersection in Srobbine. The Red Cross team had obtained UNIFIL authorization to respond to another airstrike that had hit a Lebanese army checkpoint in the same area. Information regarding casualties from this second strike remains unclear.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has intensified airstrikes across Lebanon, targeting what it claims are Hezbollah positions. The ongoing campaign has killed at least 1,437 people, injured over 4,123, and displaced more than 1.34 million people, according to Lebanese authorities.

The escalation follows a year of cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and is linked to Israel’s offensive on Gaza, which began after a Hamas attack last year. The Gaza conflict has resulted in nearly 42,200 deaths, predominantly women and children, according to local reports.

Amid warnings from the international community that the Middle East is at risk of a broader regional war, Israel expanded its operations on Oct. 1 by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara