Israeli Drone Attack Hits Ambulance, Kills Paramedic in South Lebanon

Hezbollah leader says fight is an existential battle for Lebanon’s future

Continuing the attacks on southern Lebanon, an Israeli drone carried out a strike in Naqoura against an ambulance, killing a paramedic and wounding another in the process.

The ambulance operator, the Islamic Health Authority, identified the slain paramedic as Haider Mahmoud Jahir, saying he was from Naqoura and was born in 1979. Israel did not comment on the matter, nor indicate why they attacked an ambulance.

Israel has repeatedly targeted paramedics for no apparent reason, both in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. In late March, the IDF killed seven paramedics in a single day.

The strategy in March was an attempt to rebrand the paramedics as terrorists, a process that continued even as it was revealed US-made munitions were used in attacks. Most ambulance attacks continue to come and go with no comment at all.

Earlier in the day Hezbollah targeted Iron Dome systems in Marbad al-Zaoura as well as attacking Israeli troops in the settlement of Shomera, claiming a direct hit on them.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech stressing the importance of the struggle against Israel, presenting it as an “existential battle” and saying that it was crucial for the future of Lebanon as well as the nation’s sovereignty.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.