Israel Kills Two Shepherds, Wounds 16 Children in Strikes Across South Lebanon

Shepherds were killed in strike on their home in Houla

Israeli forces dramatically escalated airstrikes against southern Lebanon over the weekend, claiming to have hit 40 “military targets” over the past 72 hours. Despite the claim, civilians appear to have overwhelmingly borne the brunt of the strikes.

On Saturday, strikes hit villages ranged across the southern border. Israel attacked the village of Siddikine, located near the city of Tyre, and wounded some 16 children between the ages of 4 and 14.

The National News Agency also reported attacks on several other villages in which at least seven additional people were wounded on Saturday. Israel did not comment on these strikes.

On Sunday, Israeli forces attacked a home in the southern village of Houla, killing two brothers who were working as shepherds. Locals say that the men used to sell sheep’s milk to neighboring villages in the area.

Israel presented its Sunday escalation of attacks as a response to the downing of one of its drones the day before. Civilians had nothing to do with that, but Israel insisted the escalation was against Hezbollah sites. There were no reports of Hezbollah infrastructure getting hit.

In the southern town of Bint Jbeil, Israel forces attacked the marketplace, damaging shops. The Lebanese Agricultural Ministry reported their ministry building in the region was also damaged.

Hezbollah responded with drone attacks against the Golan Heights, reporting that they’d attacked the radar system in the area. Israel confirmed the drones hit the area but didn’t say what was damaged. No injuries were reported in the area.

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.