Lebanon says Israeli strike killed 3 rescue workers

April 29, 2026

Summary

Lebanese officials said an Israeli strike in Majdal Zoun killed three rescue workers and wounded two soldiers.

Why this matters

The strike adds to tensions despite a U.S.-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. It also raises scrutiny over attacks on emergency workers and the broader civilian toll of the conflict.

Lebanon’s prime minister accused Israel of committing a war crime after three civil defense workers were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two successive Israeli strikes on a building in Majdal Zoun on Tuesday killed five people, including three rescue workers who responded after the first strike.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a social media post that “Targeting elements of the Civil Defence in Majdal Zoun, and their killing while carrying out their humanitarian duty, constitutes a new and described war crime perpetrated by Israel.”

“It represents a flagrant violation of the principles and rules of international humanitarian law,” Salam said.

He said the government would work “to condemn this heinous crime in international forums” and push Israel to stop what he said were repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.

A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defence told Reuters that the three rescuers were trapped under rubble in the second strike and were later confirmed dead.

The Lebanese army said two soldiers were also wounded in the second strike, which it said targeted its forces, the rescue workers, and two civilian bulldozers. Media reports said a Lebanese military patrol had been escorting the civil defense workers to the site of the first strike.

President Joseph Aoun said the killings were the latest in a “series of attacks that targeted relief and first aid workers.”

“The killings indicate that Israel continues to violate international laws and conventions that protect civilians, paramedics, Civil Defence personnel, the Red Cross, and workers in the fields of rescue, first aid, and medicine,” Aoun said.

The Health Ministry said at least eight people were killed in attacks across Lebanon on Tuesday. It said Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 had killed 2,534 people and wounded 7,863.

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