MIDDLE EAST MONITORING DESK ISLAMABAD
Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the past week have killed 394 people, the country’s health minister said on Sunday. Those killed include 83 children and 42 women, Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said at a press conference.
Nine rescue workers are also among those killed, Nassereddine added, condemning attacks on medical teams and ambulances.
Lebanon was drawn last Monday into the regional war between Iran, Israel and the US.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said on Sunday, making them the first Israeli troops to have died since fighting flared with the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
“Master Sergeant Maher Khatar, aged 38, from Majdal Shams, a soldier from the Combat Engineering Corps in the 91st division, fell during combat in southern Lebanon,” a military statement said, adding that a second soldier was killed in the same incident.
The military did not name the second soldier or provide further details on the circumstances of the incident.
Five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a hotel in Beirut, including three commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Israeli military said.
A similar Israeli strike on a hotel took place in the Lebanese capital several days ago, with Israeli media reporting that an Iranian official was killed in the strike. Local authorities in Beirut said they were looking into the incident.
