Israeli strikes kill 12 in southern Lebanon, including infant and paramedic

At least 12 people, including an infant and a paramedic, were killed in Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Rumman early on Monday, following another night of heavy attacks despite a truce deal and amid growing concerns over another all-out war.

The attacks came amid a wider Israeli escalation in Lebanon, where at least 27 people have been killed and 69 wounded over the past three days, including children, women and paramedics, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The ministry said the toll remained preliminary.

Israeli warplanes struck and destroyed a three-storey residential building in Kfar Rumman shortly after midnight. The health ministry initially reported eight people killed in the strike, including an infant and two women, before later raising the death toll at the house to 11.

Another 11 people were wounded in the strike, including four children, two women and a paramedic from the Islamic Health Authority. The ministry earlier said human remains were still inside the destroyed building as rescue operations continued.

Unconfirmed reports said two infants were killed in the attack on the building.

In a separate attack, the ministry said an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Kfar Rumman, killing a paramedic from the Islamic Risala Scouts Association and injuring two others. One of the wounded paramedics was reported to be in critical condition.

"The death toll is further damning evidence of the grave violations of international humanitarian law being committed by the [Israeli] occupation, targeting paramedics and children, who are protected under international law during times of war," the ministry said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel's attacks, accusing it of killing civilians, including children and women, and destroying homes and property.

"What Israel is doing in terms of repeated attacks, killing innocent people, children and women, destroying and burning homes and bulldozing property are condemned, rejected and unjustified crimes," Aoun said.

He said the attacks were targeting the framework agreement and undermining efforts to halt the escalation in southern Lebanon and the wider region.

Kfar Rumman neighbours Nabatiyeh, a city in the heart of southern Lebanon that has come under increasing attack in recent months and was heavily hit during the war in recent years.

The Israeli military recently announced the capture of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge, which overlooks Nabatiyeh from the east. Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group that has been fighting Israel since 2023, has neither confirmed nor denied Israel's claims.

Israeli jets also carried out a series of strikes on Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, Arabsalim and Deir al-Zahrani. The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for Deir al-Zahrani before the attack, claiming the strike was in response to Hezbollah firing a drone.

The attacks come despite a US-sponsored framework agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel in late June, which provides for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories in southern Lebanon in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese Army. The deal stipulates that the Lebanese military gradually dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in villages vacated by Israeli forces.

But implementation has stalled, and Israel says it will not leave Lebanon before Hezbollah fully disarms – a demand the Iran-backed group has rejected until Israeli forces fully withdraw from Lebanese territory.

Israel has occupied swathes of Lebanese territory since its invasion began in October 2024 during the previous all-out war on Lebanon.

In March this year, when full-fledged fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed, Israel expanded its invasion and has since established what it describes as a security zone along the entire border.

Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Israel Katz, have said that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Lebanon.

Talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv were set to resume at the start of this month, but their status remains unclear amid the recent escalation in southern Lebanon and Israel's refusal to implement the trilateral framework.