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Israeli strike on ambulance in south Lebanon kills paramedic: spokesperson Beirut, Lebanon, March 29 (AFP) Mar 29, 2026 An Israeli strike on an ambulance belonging to the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee killed one paramedic and his patient Sunday, the group's spokesperson said. The incident came a day after at least nine first aid workers were killed by Israeli strikes on the south and, according to the Lebanese health ministry, some 47 have been killed since the war began. Israel regularly accuses Hezbollah of using ambulance drivers and personnel as cover for operations. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 when militant group Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with large-scale strikes on Lebanon and a ground offensive in the country's south, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 1,189 people killed since the hostilities broke out. "A paramedic and a wounded person who was with him were killed in an Israeli raid on an ambulance in the town of Bint Jbeil," Islamic Health Committee spokesperson Mahmoud Karaki told AFP. An image shared by Karaki showed a destroyed ambulance, set ablaze. In a statement on social media, the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned that Israel would continue to strike ambulances if, in its view, Hezbollah continues to use them. "We reiterate our confirmation that, as part of its terrorist activities, Hezbollah is making extensive military use of ambulances," he said. On Saturday, Israeli strikes killed at least nine paramedics across the south, alongside several other deadly bombings, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Israeli warplanes also broke the sound barrier over Beirut, causing panic. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army announced the death of a fifth soldier since the start of the war in Lebanon. It also said its troops carried out a "targeted operation to thwart attempts by terrorist organisations to establish a foothold along the Lebanon border". The troops crossed "on foot through deep snow from the Syrian Hermon", which Israel has occupied since the 2024 fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, "to the Mount Dov area in southern Lebanon to scan the area, gather intelligence, and locate enemy terrorist infrastructure". Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Israeli troops and positions in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported several Israeli strikes across the south on Sunday. |
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