Ten Civilians, Mostly Women and Children, Killed in Israeli Attack on Lebanese Coastal Town

Five more civilians also slain in evening attack on nearby town of Herat Saida

Israeli airstrikes continued against the southern coast of Lebanon today, hitting the small coastal town of Sarafand. The town’s mayor reported at least 10 civilians had been killed, nearly all women and children.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported a lower death toll earlier in the day but added that rescue operations were still underway. The ministry also said that at least 21 other civilians were wounded in the attack.

Israel did not comment on the attack on Sarafand. The IDF has a general policy of “not commenting” on Israeli strikes first reported in the foreign media, which includes virtually all Israeli strikes against civilian targets.

Israel attacks are taking place throughout Lebanon and have killed thousands. Israel has also issued mass evacuation orders, affecting many of the highly populated areas in the country. Over a million people have been displaced by these orders.

Later on Tuesday evening, Israel carried out a follow-up attack in the Sarafand area, this time hitting the town of Haret Saida, killing at least five civilians. Thirty-three were also wounded in the attack, and as the Health Ministry advises these are preliminary numbers, they’re likely to climb.

Haret Saida was the target of multiple airstrikes earlier on Sunday, with a number of civilians killed then as well. This strike was noteworthy because Haret Saida was not listed in any of Israel’s many evacuation orders, but that didn’t seem to stop the IDF from attacking a civilian target.

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.