Israeli Strikes Kill 4358 in Lebanon, Including Teenager in Southern Town

The death toll from Israeli military operations in Lebanon since March 2 has reached 4,358, with an additional 12,359 wounded, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The latest fatality was an 18-year-old woman killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a populated area in the southern town of Meifdoun early Saturday. Nine others were injured in the same strike.

Witnesses reported that Israeli warplanes conducted raids on several areas in southern Lebanon overnight Friday to Saturday, including Nabatieh, the Ma'souma Garden, and the heights of Ali Al-Taher and Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, before launching the heavy raid on Meifdoun. The Meifdoun strike hit a "populated area," and rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to search for casualties amid the rubble. Residents had reportedly returned to their homes, with families often gathered inside at night.

Israeli forces also carried out explosions in the southern towns of Mansouri and Bani Hayyan on Saturday. An airstrike in the town of Kfour, in the Nabatieh region, completely destroyed the home of the late Lebanese MP Habib Sadek. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli forces used explosive barrels, dropped by Israeli drones, in Mansouri, and that a drone transferred and dropped explosives on homes in the town.

In the Marjayoun district, "massive" explosions were reported in Bani Hayyan. Earlier Saturday, the outskirts of Zawtar Al-Sharqiyeh were subjected to concentrated Israeli artillery shelling, causing fires in fields. An Israeli balloon was observed over the town, coinciding with Israeli military vehicle movements inside, according to the agency.

These actions follow an announcement by the Israeli military that it had begun shelling areas in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as the interception of a drone launched by Hezbollah elements towards its forces operating in what Israel calls the "security zone" in the south.