A health ministry emergency operations center confirmed that an Israeli airstrike on the village of Ansariyya in Nabatieh district killed seven people, including three children and two women.
An Israeli airstrike on Ansariyya in Nabatieh district killed seven people, the health ministry's emergency operations center said. The toll included three children and two women, making the strike part of a broader escalation across the southern region that has displaced residents and raised civilian casualties.
The strike targeted a house and structure on the edge of Ansariyya in the early morning hours. Three additional people were wounded in the attack, according to earlier reports from the national news agency.
The airstrike was one of more than a dozen carried out across Nabatieh district between dawn and 5 a.m. Eight strikes hit Ali al-Tahir ridge, three targeted Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and one strike, delivered by rocket, struck targets near Ansariyya. Israeli warplanes conducted dummy raids over southern villages and dropped thermal balloons throughout the early morning hours.
Israeli helicopter gunships carried out extensive strafing operations over Ali al-Tahir ridge while dropping thick clouds of smoke canisters. Artillery fire from Israeli positions targeted Dabsha hill, Douehat Kafr Ruman, Wadi al-Suluqi, and Wadi al-Hajir. Machine gun fire struck the village of Beit Yahun and the edges of Barashit.
The intensity of the bombardment prompted a wave of displacement from the Nabatieh region as residents fled their homes fearing a widening of strikes. The escalation extended through the night and into Tuesday, when Israeli warplanes conducted two strikes on the village of Mansouri and one on Wadi al-Suluqi near the bridge.
Israeli operations continued across southern villages and towns including Hadatha, Kunin, Bint Jbeil, Masha al-Mansouri, al-Tayyiba, the vicinity of Markaba, and Rab al-Thalateen. Heavy artillery fire struck the edges of Mifdoun, Dabsha, Ali al-Tahir ridge, Douehat Kafr Ruman, Bani Hayan, Wadi al-Suluqi, Hadatha, and the edges of Zbiqin.
Machine gun fire accompanied the bombardment, targeting al-Khiyam, Mees al-Jebel, Aita al-Jebel, and Mansouri. Israeli forces burned and bulldozed dozens of houses in Bani Hayan, Hadatha, Mees al-Jebel, and al-Tayyiba, according to reports from the region.
Israeli drones dropped incendiary canisters over Masha al-Mansouri, Ali al-Tahir ridge, the forests of Aita al-Jebel, and Haris, igniting fires in multiple locations. The scale of the assault, spanning airstrikes, helicopter operations, artillery, and ground-level destruction, represents a significant intensification of military action in the south.
The deaths of three children and two women in Ansariyya underscore the civilian cost of the current escalation. The south remained under cautious quiet by morning following the nighttime and dawn operations, though residents remained displaced from their homes and the military situation remained uncertain.
