At Least 10 Killed as Israel Attacks Southern Lebanon Industrial Area

Hezbollah reports that all of the slain are civilians

On Saturday, Israel carried out an airstrike against the industrial-residential area of the southern Lebanon city of Nabatieh, killing at least 10 people and wounding 5 others. Two individuals were seriously hurt in the airstrike officials say hit a residential building.

The Lebanon Health Ministry has reported that all 10 of the slain were Syrian nationals. The attack appears to have targeted factory buildings containing residences of people working in the industrial area and their families. A mother and two of her children were among those killed.

Israel claimed the attack targeted a weapons storage facility belonging to Hezbollah. Locals said that was not the case, and the factory owner said “we are a well-known family” in the area not aligned with any political party.

Hezbollah also issued an announcement saying that all killed were civilians. In retaliation some 55 rockets were fired against northern Israel’s Ayelet HaShahar. Israel’s Defense Forces claimed no injuries resulted from the attack although fires broke out.

Later, however, the Israeli Army issued a statement reporting that two soldiers had been wounded in an attack near the Lebanon border. As no details were offered on how they were injured, this may have been a different incident. One of the two was reported seriously wounded, the other lightly.

The Israeli attack took place overnight, just hours after attempts to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip ended. US and French officials have said that a Gaza truce is a key step to preventing an Israeli war in Lebanon.

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.